Rachel's recipes: Slow roasted tomatoes

We are still at the edge of summer when tomatoes don’t yet have that “fully ripe” exquisite flavor full of sweetness. So what to do to make truly delicious sauces and soups? The trick is to roast them and concentrate the flavor and work with the slightly caramelized morsels now reduced in water. Take tomatoes, as ripe as possible and if they are a little burst and over ripe so much the better. Halve them laterally and place on a roasting tin or cookie tray for 1-1.5 hours at 160C. What you want is lightly roasted, not blackened, and cooked through well, but not dried out (dried out tomatoes are for August and a batch of “confit” tomatoes). Many recipes call for olive oil to be dribbled over at this stage but I don’t bother. Why waste and ruin volatile oils whose goodness and flavor is maximized cold? Simply sprinkle a little salt and pepper over them. Roasting the tomatoes of course doesn’t decrease their rich supply of lycopenes, a rich antioxidant, and this sauce has a trick up its sleeve: raw onion “gazpacho style”. The onion is blitzed in raw and gives not only great flavor but the maximum power of the almighty onion! Both onions and garlic are cholesterol busters so don’t be shy – eat them raw! Onions are high in vitamin C, B6, biotin, chromium, calcium and dietary fiber and also contain good amounts of folic acid and vitamin B1 and K. This sauce is great over meatballs, as a pasta sauce or used to make a rich tasting lasagna. Thin with a little vegetable stock and add some smoked paprika for a sensational soup – just drizzle a little olive oil to finish. Roast Tomato Sauce – with a healthy twist You need: Roasting trays and a blender or hand blender This makes approximately 750ml of sauce but this is more a method than a precise recipe so feel free to experiment 1kg tomatoes as ripe as you can find them 1 large onion cut up roughly A good glug of olive oil approx 100ml Juice and zest of 1 lemon (optional) More salt and pepper Blend the tomatoes complete with skins and pips. Add the onion pieces and the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Enjoy! By Rachel Sargent, guest writer Rachel Sargent is the chef and owner of the London Street Bakery, which offers healthy seasonal food. More about it here.