Description
Slow-roasted tomatoes with fennel celebrate summer’s bounty with Ina Garten’s elegant Mediterranean-inspired dish. Fragrant herbs and roasted vegetables merge into a sublime side that invites seasonal enjoyment at your table.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lbs (900 g) plum tomatoes
- ¾ tsp (1.5 g) fennel pollen or ground fennel
- ¼ tsp (0.5 g) crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- Fleur de sel or sea salt
Instructions
- Preparation: Position the oven rack centrally and preheat to 275°F, creating an ideal roasting environment for transforming fresh tomatoes into concentrated flavor gems.
- Tomato Transformation: Slice ripe tomatoes horizontally through the stem, creating symmetrical halves that will caramelize elegantly during the slow-roasting process.
- Flavor Foundation: Generously coat a rimmed baking sheet with extra virgin olive oil, establishing a rich, aromatic base that will enhance the tomatoes’ natural sweetness.
- Seasoning Symphony: Sprinkle fennel pollen (or ground fennel seeds) across tomato surfaces, followed by crushed red pepper flakes to introduce a subtle, warming complexity.
- Seasoning Technique: Massage kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper into the tomato halves, ensuring each piece receives uniform, balanced seasoning.
- Roasting Configuration: Carefully place tomato halves cut-side down in a single layer, allowing direct contact with the olive oil-coated surface to maximize caramelization.
- Flavor Concentration: Roast for 2½ to 3 hours, watching as the tomatoes slowly transform, developing rich, intense flavors and beautifully caramelized edges.
- Finishing Touch: Remove from the oven and delicately transfer to a serving platter, presenting the cut sides upward to showcase their deep, roasted complexity.
- Final Flourish: Garnish with a delicate sprinkle of fleur de sel or premium sea salt, elevating the tomatoes’ inherent sweetness and depth of flavor.
Notes
- Choose Ripe Tomatoes: Select firm, deeply colored tomatoes at peak ripeness for the most intense, sweet roasted flavor.
- Slice with Precision: Cut tomatoes horizontally to ensure even caramelization and consistent roasting throughout.
- Oil Matters: Use high-quality extra virgin olive oil to create a flavorful base that enhances the tomatoes’ natural sweetness.
- Patience is Key: Low and slow roasting develops complex flavors, transforming ordinary tomatoes into an extraordinary side dish or accompaniment.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Appetizer, Snacks
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg