Sunday, December 4, 2011

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

You know what they say.  Lots of tomatoes every day keep cancer away!  Ok maybe they don't say that but they could.  Lycopene, the antioxidant component in tomatoes that make them yellow and red, has been shown in some studies to lower the risk of certain cancers.  My husband reminds me of this regularly when he's biting into a juicy cheeseburger with a skinny, anemic looking slice of tomato hanging on for dear life between the cheese and the mayo.  He's right though.  I gotta give him that.

Today's recipe is embarrassingly simple. But it's really delicious too.  This was part of me trying to be healthy and it worked, and carried me throughout the week for a couple of different dishes.  I ate them on the side with my Chicken Paillard to brighten the dish, and also used them in my turkey stuffed peppers, which I'll post next week.  Start with the following:

Red Cherry Tomatoes
Yellow Cherry Tomatoes 
Sea Salt
Olive Oil
Basil  

So the salt you use here is important.  I wouldn't even make this without kosher or sea salt, because this is the only seasoning we are using.  I mean you could make with table salt if you MUST, but it won't be nearly as good.


Give the toms a nice little rinse.  The packages that these came in already had holes in them so the tomatoes can breath so I treated the package like a little colander.  Less dishes to clean = happy husband.

Pour in your olive oil.

 
Add your salt. Doesn't it look like little tiny snow flakes?  Typing "snow" just made me cringe and frantically look at the date.  It's going to be snowing here in Chicago very, very soon.  Lord help me.

Give them a good toss


And roll them out onto a sheet pan.  Put them in a 400 degree oven and patiently wait your 15 minutes.

While roasting the tomatoes, prep your basil.  You can add however much basil you want.  I only added 5 leafs because I wanted the tomato flavor to be the headliner.  This can turn bruschetta tasting very quickly and we aren't exactly going for that.  Cut however much you're adding into thin strips. 

After 15 minutes in the oven, the tomatoes will start to burst.  Cooking them like this really intensifies their flavor.  I LOVE roasted tomatoes.

So some are going to burst, some aren't but that's how you want it.  The beauty of this dish comes from the contrasting textures and flavors.


Add your basil, and then toss.   How easy is that?



This couldn't be healthier, easier, and more flavorful.  So you can eat this as a side, you can eat this with crostini, you can toss this with some whole wheat pasta and feta for a light week night dinner.  Make a lot because you'll think of a hundred different things to do with these.  The opportunities are endless here.  Start with simple and you'll end up with magical.  Yum.  Stay hungry! 

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
2 Pints of Cherry Tomatoes, 1 red 1 yellow
5 Basil Leaves 
1 Tbs of Olive Oil
1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt 

Toss every thing together in a big bowl accept the basil.  Add to cookie sheet.  Roast in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until smaller tomatoes begin to burst.  Add back into same bowl and toss with thinly sliced basil leaves. Enjoy! 

3 comments:

  1. Jaisa and Caitlin, I am loving your blog! You two are adorable. I make roasted tomatoes like these all the time, only I add a little balsamic reduction at the end as well. They are so delish! I'll be trying some of your other recipes and crafty ideas soon :) xo Jenny

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  2. What a good idea! That sound delicious.

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  3. I just came across this. I was thinking about your leek and mushroom appetizer for Christmas, but I wanted more color. I was trying to think of how I would use cherry tomatoes other then raw. SCORE!!!

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