Warm tomatoes and basil right from the garden are the taste of summer to me! And although it feels distinctly Fall-like now, we had a lovely summer pasta last night.
This year, we had two tomato patches - 16 plants in our raised bed (grown according to the Square-Foot method) and then about 5 in our front yard which were the leftover plants we had. Ironically, the ones in the back didn't do very well and became fairly diseased and didn't produce well, whereas the neglected ones in the front produced spectacularly, even though I didn't even stake them. The tomatoes were lying on the ground! Their one bit of attention was me putting some newspaper underneath the bunches of fruit.
Anyway. Because of their terrible neglect, some had soft spots on them, and this recipe is the perfect way to use non-perfect toms.
First, slice them thickly (1/2 inch), cutting out any yucky bits, wormy holes and the stem/core. Then lay them out in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Now chop up a whole heap of garlic - 4-5 large clove for 2 baking dishes worth and spinkle then garlic over. You should have a small heap on each piece of tomato. Now salt and pepper and (if you want to live really dangerously) a tiny pinch of brown sugar on each tomato (though this isn't necessary and I didn't do it this time). Then bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 mins or until they are soft through and the garlic is browning. At this point you can put them in the fridge for a day or so (what I did), freeze them, or eat them on bruschetta.
When you want to eat them, cook up some linguine. While it's cooking, roughly shop your toms. Drain the pasta, chuck the tomatoes in with a good glug of good olive oil (1/4 cup?), more salt and pepper, and a handful or torn basil leaves.
Heaven. Plus, once you've done the tomatoes, dinner takes 10 mins, max. You can roast a whole lotta tomatoes at once and freeze them in packages so you can have the taste of summer all winter.
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