How do you like those tomatoes?

Here in the DelSo we're neighborly.  We like to share baked goods, pot-luck dinners and bottles of wine, and I love the sense of community we enjoy in our neighborhood.  Yesterday I came home and found these:

Aren't they gorgeous?  My neighbor, Lucy, shared her bounty with us and I couldn't wait to do something with these lovelies!  In a recent issue of Bon Appetit (Aug 2010) there was a recipe for Bruschetta with Rosemary, Roasted Plum Tomatoes, Ricotta and Prosciutto and I decided to sort of make those.  I say sort of, because I had no intention of making bruschetta today, nor did I have ricotta or prosciutto on hand.  What I really wanted to do was make something delicious with those beautiful plum tomatoes and this recipe provided the inspiration.  

rosemary and garlic

tomatoes prior to roasting

roasted tomatoes

Lucy gave me a lot of tomatoes so I quadrupled the recipe - using 1 1/2 cups of olive oil, 8 garlic cloves minced, about 1/4 cup finely chopped rosemary, and 4 t of both fresh ground pepper and coarse salt.  These ingredients were combined in a large bowl to which I added about 24 quartered plum tomatoes.  After allowing the flavors to mingle for about 10 minutes I lifted the tomatoes out of the bowl (naturally reserving the luscious flavored olive oil) and placed them, cut side down, on a foil lined baking sheet.  I popped the baking sheet into the oven for 45 minutes at 425 degrees (can someone please tell me where the symbol for "degrees" is on my Mac, please?) and let the house fill with the aroma of tomatoes, garlic and rosemary roasting. 

Check out that photo below - summer yum!  Did you notice one (or 2) are missing?  I could have eaten them like candy, they were so sweet and delicious.  Just in case you're not inclined to eat these with your fingers  a fork off the baking sheet, a few additional ideas for how to enjoy these delectable summer fruits:  toss with pasta and some freshly grated cheese,  top a pizza, put them in a sandwich or  an omelet, add them to your  burger or your grilled cheese, stir them into risotto, place them on a salad, oh my, there are so many ways these can be devoured!  Why do I suddenly hear the Green Eggs and Ham refrain in my head?  Taste them, taste them  - you will see! 

For now, mine are in the fridge in their own juices - I found it unnecessary to add any of the reserved liquid and will use that instead to make another batch tomorrow with the remaining tomatoes.  Don't worry, neighbors, I'll be sharing these because that's how we do it in the DelSo.  Enjoy!