Ahhh, summer!! It’s such a beautiful time of year. All the fresh produce comes out of the fields at a rapid pace giving us an abundance of deliciousness and beautiful colors to thrill our bodies and souls.

Tomatoes are plentiful in the summer and at my most recent trip to the Farmer’s Market, I was totally inspired by the varieties and colors of cherry tomatoes. Every color of the rainbow was represented in these sweet, beautiful orbs.

I bought some of each color and got to work figuring out what to do with them other than pop them straight into my mouth (which is ok, too). I found a yummy Roasted Tomato recipe and adapted it for cherry tomatoes. Find the original version here if you have lots of large tomatoes that you want to roast.

Are Tomatoes Good for You?

From a nutrition perspective, tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium plus they contain a powerful phytonutrient called Lycopene. Lycopene has been linked to the prevention of prostate, lung and stomach cancers and also shown to be good for bone health. Cooking tomatoes breaks down the cell walls of the tomatoes making the lycopene more available for absorption by your body. So eating tomatoes raw or cooked offers you great nutritional benefits.

What to do with all those #tomatoes?! Try roasting them! #saslife Click To Tweet

 

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Adapted from Oven Roasted Tomatoes by David Lebovitz
Makes 6 servings
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Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
¼ - ½ tsp maple syrup (optional)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2.5 pounds cherry tomatoes, variety of colors, cut into halves

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 325º F.
2. Place tomato halves in a mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients stirring gently to coat the tomatoes.
3. Spray an oven casserole dish with vegetable cooking spray. Arrange tomato halves in a single layer leaving some space in between each tomato half.
4. Bake for one hour or until the tomatoes are softened and start to wrinkle. Depending on the tomatoes, cooking times may vary so check it occasionally to determine your desired level of doneness. (Large tomatoes may take up to 2 hours.)

 

Another Reason to Roast Tomatoes

If you grow tomatoes, you know tomato plants produce lots of tomatoes all at once. It can be difficult to eat them up before they become overripe or spoil. So roasting provides a way to store them for later use. You can keep these roasted tomatoes in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze them for six months.

Here are a few serving suggestions for these yummies:

• Serve them as a side dish.
• Add them to a salad.
• Load them on top of a burger (with or without bun) or sandwich.
• Serve them on top of melty cheese toast.
• Pile them on top of ½ of an avocado for a unique low carb breakfast.
• Add them to your favorite homemade or store bought pasta sauce.