You don’t need to do much to a good tomato. A pinch of flaky salt (Maldon or Jacobsen are my favorites) and a drizzle of olive oil and you’ve got yourself a meal with a nice loaf of sourdough and maybe some cheese, smoked trout, or prosciutto. When you want to work a little harder, go for a BLT, or roast a sheet pan of halved cherry tomatoes (or cut up big ones) and spoon them over pasta or polenta.
An assortment of cherry tomatoes
Roasted tomatoes…beginning to caramelize.
Oven Roasted Tomatoes for Pasta or Polenta
Ingredients
- tomatoes
- olive oil
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400° F. Cut up tomatoes and put them in a bowl. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, toss with your hand, then pour everything out onto a rimmed sheet pan. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes, until tomatoes just begin to caramelize.
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Serve over pasta or soft-cooked polenta. Garnish with shavings of parmesan, torn basil, flaky salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Recipe Notes / Tips
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Polenta is easy to make. Start with a coarse ground corn meal like Bob's Red Mill "Grits/Polenta". Bring 4 cups water to boil, add a teaspoon sea salt, 1 cup polenta and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, add in a tablespoon or two of butter, or olive oil, or a little of each to finish.
- For pasta, my favorite brand is Rustichella D'Abruzzo. Cook in plenty of boiling, salted water until al dente then drain—don't rinse with water.
