Salt-Roasted Tomatoes

Halved tomatoes that have been left to dry in a slow oven have long been touted and admired as the most delicious candy-like vegetable. The juice evaporates and the tomatoes turn more leathery than lush. They are concentrated and delicious.

However, another approach is to keep the juice in the tomatoes, and to do that, I choose firm but ripe tomatoes, preferably smaller ones.

Leave the tomatoes whole then turn them in a bowl with enough olive oil just to coat and add a dash of sea salt. Then put them in a shallow dish in a single layer and bake at 300 degree oven until the skins are shriveled and a little crusty which takes an hour or longer. Even better, set them on an oiled wire rack in turn set on a sheet pan. When done, they look odd and dry but when you bite into one, the juice squirts into your mouth.

Toss the tomatoes with pasta, put on toast with cheese or puree into a sauce or soup. These tomatoes can be used in many delicious ways.