Slow Roasting Veggies

There's something about throwing a baking pan in the oven and not having to worry about it that appeals to me in this windy, wintery weather. I've heard that slow roasting tomatoes concentrates their flavor and right about this time of year, even those "vine ripened" tomatoes taste like nothing. So after making this Israeli Cous Cous, Broccoli and Tomato side, I thought it would be interesting to add roasted tomatoes to it the second go around.

Boring, flavorless tomatoes turn to into rich, tasty ones after an hour in the oven.

 

Once again, I'm impatient, so many recipes I found on the internet suggested you bake for 2-3 hours. These were baked for 1 hour-ish and were very yummy. I made a larger batch and turned half of them into a sauce for a Ravioli Lasagna (recipe to come).

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

1 pint cherry tomatoes

olive oil

salt/pepper

jarred garlic

fresh rosemary

1.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Cut tomatoes in half and place in a bowl. Drizzle with oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of garlic and 1-2 sprigs of rosemary. Mix.
3. Place on a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet cut side up.
4. Bake for 1-3 hours, depending on how much time you have to spend and how dry you want your tomatoes. 
5. Enjoy!!

 Another of my veggie loves is kale. I usually saute it with some garlic and add vinegar at the end, yum! In this particular batch I decided to utilize my oven again. I must be cold or something since I am really enjoying having the oven on. Also, on a side note, I am always amazed at how much kale cooks down!

 

Big 'ol bunch of kale, roasted in the oven turns into crispy chips!

 

Well, in this picture, they look somewhat shriveled...some were crispy, I swear. If I had 2 pans these may have turned out crispy-er. Still love kale and ended up putting these in a quesadilla for dinner one night and in potsticker soup another night. I seem to be getting a handle on this cooking for one stuff...

Kale Chips
1 bunch kale
olive oil
salt/pepper

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees
2. Remove kale from stems and tear into pieces. Drizzle with olive oil (or spray with olive oil cooking spray) and add salt/pepper to taste - Remember that the kale will shrink so add less salt than you think you need.
3. Spread into a single layer on a lined baking pan (or two) and cook for 20 minutes, turning half way through.

If you cooked these right, the kale should literally melt in your mouth, sooo good!! This is the kind of cooking my mom calls "primary cooking". You take raw ingredients and cook them so that you can put them in something else. It's a meal starter! Now, go eat your (roasted) veggies!!