roasted tomatoes (vegan)

I never knew how easy it was to get this much flavor from tomatoes, even with winter tomatoes. If you grown  your own in the summer, use surplus 'ugly' ones for roasting--they'll be amazing. Just cut away the icky parts.

Be really light on the salt because roasting concentrates that lovely, smoky tomatoe-y taste. I have also frozen roasted tomatoes for later use. My kids love these and they make a great base for panini or the centerpiece of a roasted tomato pizza.

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Tomatoes, your favorite,
2-3 beefsteaks
1 tub of cherry or grape tomatoes
5-6 Romas

Hawaiian salt and black pepper, to taste
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1T olive oil to start, add more if needed
Fresh basil, chopped finely (optional, and dried works just fine too)

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Slice tomatoes into thin rounds. If using grape or cherry tomatoes, do nothing! Mix together garlic, basil  and olive oil in a bowl. Toss the tomatoes just enough to coat them.

Lay tomatoes on an aluminum foil-lined broiler pan. Very lightly salt and pepper. Broil at 350 degrees until the tomatoes start to blacken and shrivel up (about 20 minutes). Turn off oven and move to the middle rack to dry out a little. Remove from the pan and lay flat. Make them the base of pizza (see below), panini, or just eat them as a side dish.

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Roasted Tomato Pizza

1 Boboli whole wheat crust
Olive oil
Roasted tomatoes

Fresh basil
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush pizza crust with a teeny bit of olive oil. Layer the roasted tomatoes over. Sprinkle with fresh basil ribbons. Top with mozzarella and sprinkle fresh cracked pepper over. Bake at 350 degrees, on a pizza stone if you have one, for about 30 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble and brown. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then cut, eat and be happy.

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