August Tomatoes

Since late June we've been eying a bounty of green tomatoes that continue to grow, but refuse to ripen. That appears to be changing now, as each day a few more tomatoes are engulfed by a flame-like yellow that spreads from the bottoms up to the stems and, after a few more days, erupt into deep red, juicy globes and loosen from their vines.

But what's one to do with perfect August tomatoes? Blend a gazpacho? It's difficult to plan a meal around that, though. Drown a plate of pasta in tomato gravy that's simmered all day? That's another post. All of these require work, though. Alternatively, oven-roasted tomatoes are the sort of thing that would make aging TV pitchman Ron Popeil proud: set it and forget it.

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

4-6 ripe tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Slice large tomatoes into fourths, or slice smaller tomatoes in half and place on baking sheet, skin side down.


Sprinkle very lightly with coriander and salt. Bake at 200 degrees for 6 hours.


Remove from oven when tomatoes have reduced to about 2/3 original size and the edges have curled. Serve alongside oiled pasta or grilled fish.


Prepare these a few times -- and practice using a shallow focus field, too -- and alternate the temperature and baking time to your liking. Tomatoheads will argue that 6 hours is far too short of a time -- preferring instead to make a weekend out of the ordeal by roasting them for 10-12 hours -- but, for me, 6 hours at 200 degrees (or even 2-3 hours at 300 degrees) yields a perfectly appetizing result.