Slow-roasted tomatoes: Sweet, healthy recipe for families who love fresh food

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The health benefits of tomatoes are well known.

For one, the ripe red fruits (yes, tomatoes are fruits) are full of a substance called lycopene, which gives them their bright red color and helps protect our cells against damage. 

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Tomatoes are also rich in potassium, vitamins A, C and K, and other nutrients.

A beautiful batch of fresh tomatoes is shown here. Lycopene gives tomatoes their bright red color and helps protect our cells against damage.  (iStock)

It's no wonder that a new book, "Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts" by Daniel Holtzman and Matt Rodbard (Harper Wave/HarperCollins), is not just chock-full of wise insights and useful information for all of us, but contains a great recipe in which tomatoes are the star.

Holtzman is a professional chef, cookbook author and dedicated home cook.

Rodbard is a home cook and "tireless asker of questions about food and cooking," as the book notes. He's also founder of the food magazine Taste.  

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Here, with special permission, is a standout recipe from their book (with an intro first) for slow-roasted tomatoes that any of us — even the culinary newbies among us — can try any day of the week and enjoy long afterward.

Now, read an excerpt from "Food IQ," featured here with special permission.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, from the book ‘Food IQ’

Slow roasting tomatoes concentrates their sweetness and preserves their flavor, making a delicious, versatile ingredient that can be used in many dishes.

Roasted tomatoes are equally good in a cold salad as they are served warm on their own or with green beans, asparagus, or other vegetables.

Tomatoes and other fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables are shown in this image — they help support strong heart health, plus they're delicious focal points for a wide array of meals this spring and summer, including the roasted tomatoes recipe featured here.  (iStock)

They can also be blended with olive oil and a little vinegar to make an especially delicious sauce for fish or meat.

This roasting technique works with any variety of tomato, from grocery store Romas to the heirlooms brought home from the farmers' market, and the result is well worth the investment of time.

Plus, once roasted, they will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, so feel free to make a big batch.

Fresh tomatoes on the vine are shown here. A delicious recipe in which tomatoes are the star is featured here from "Food IQ." (Getty Images/iStock)

Ingredients

8 medium-size vine-ripened tomatoes, cored and quartered lengthwise

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, smashed

6 thyme sprigs

(Makes about 1 quart) 

Roasted tomatoes treated with extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, garlic and thyme — and roasted just so — are delicious and easy to prepare.  (iStock)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Place the tomatoes, skin side up, on the prepared pan. Drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with salt, and scatter the garlic and thyme over the top.

3. Roast the tomatoes until they have shrunken and shriveled and are beginning to brown around the edges but are not completely dry, 1 to 1 ½ hours, depending on their size. Use warm, at room temperature, or cold.

From the book "Food IQ" by Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard. Copyright © 2022 by Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard. Published by Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission.

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