Monday, August 11, 2008

Roasted Tomatoes With Chèvre


I grew up with my grandparents on their farm for a few years and it was wonderful. Hanging out in the garden with my Grandma Zeve who would find tomato worms, and with her bare hands, rip them in half (eww) and then throw them to the chickens who ran around all day eating any pests for her. They actually fought over those green juicy fat things. I'm so glad that I'm not a chicken. I remember running barefoot through the dirt carrying jars of water out to my Baba who was on his tractor working in the 40 acres of peaches, or sitting in the cherry tree spitting down cherry pits until I had eaten enough. It was a life every kid should know.

I think once you have had real farm ripe produce, nothing else will ever taste right particularly, when the hands that grew them also belong to the people you love. At the fruit stand yesterday they had ripe tomatoes that were ready for anything. I really never cook tomatoes because there is no need to change what is already a perfect creation. But it was time for something different, and it was well worth the change. Enjoy...


SLOW ROASTED TOMATOES WITH GOAT CHEESE
(the photo shows herbs on the tomatoes in the very beginning, it is too long of a cooking time though and I removed them before putting the tomatoes in the oven and added them back towards the end of baking , but the photo was beautiful so I wanted to show it)

4 vine ripe tomatoes
Olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves
Pepper fresh ground
Salt kosher or other
2 T fresh herb leaves (I used marjoram)
Goat cheese 1 small log of chevre

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Wash and dry the tomatoes, cut out the stem core, cut in half.
Coat well with olive oil.
Place on parchment lined baking sheet cut side up.
Slice garlic as thin as possible and place 3-4 slices on each tomato half.
Drizzle a few drops of olive oil on top of the garlic.
Pepper and salt.

Bake for 4-5 hours

Add the chopped herbs and bake 1/2-1 hour more.

Place 1 small spoon of goat cheese on each half, a few more drops of olive oil, and a little salt and pepper and return to oven for 5 minutes.

Serves 4.

All you really need is time for this, a lot of time, it is not difficult in any way, shape or form, you just have to wait for them to be done, there is no hurrying 'slow'. Timing really depends on the size of the tomatoes. Mine were 3-4 inches across. I used my very favorite salt...Australian pink flake, but I think I have about 8 or 10 to choose from. And I used marjoram because it is what I had. They are wonderful as a side dish and for BBQ's because the last minute work is so simple, basically a blob of cheese. I started eating them before adding the chevre which was still really good and I almost forgot to take photographs, but do use the chevre, it is even more wonderful together.

10 comments:

test it comm said...

Those look so good! I really like slow roasted tomatoes and a simple slow roasted tomato with some herbs and cheese on top sounds perfect!

Nina Timm said...

Tomatoes and goats cheese...just yummee. I filled some tomatoes with broken pieces of ciabatta and mozzarella cheese and popped them under the griller....it was delicious!

Anonymous said...

Kevin...you know I love what you make and how you photograph. Thank you for the comment. But I want a photo of you smiling okay?

Nina...I love your site, but I can not figure out how to comment on it. I will say this, South Africa, how cool is that? And I know nothing about the Old Apostolic Churh of Africa so I will look up some info.

una donna dolce said...

These look great! I love roasted tomatoes!

una donna dolce said...

You were first! Did you get your package yet?

pam said...

I love slow roasted tomatoes. Adding goat cheese takes it to a whole new level!

una donna dolce said...

I seem to think mine came from Kohl's but it's been so long I can't remember...I'm sorry - I used things like dried chiles and mushrooms instead of bubble wrap. Think of it as edible bubble wrap! I hope it gets there soon! I have a rural post office, so that's probably what slowed it.

una donna dolce said...

I usually pick a theme for appetizers - like one type of food, say Asian or Italian, and figure out what I'll make based on that. I'll have at least one vegetarian dish, no more than one spicy dish. You can go with all hot or have some cold ones, but I find people enjoy hot food more, so don't have all cold ones.

Eleganza Strings/ The DeLadurantey Family said...

This looks to die for! I think we will have to try this very soon!

The Theology of Food said...

Those look deathly good! Roasted tomatoes and goat cheese............awsome!

Ha I just realized my sister must have commented already........I second her opinion!


Hannah