These little gems are like candy when they come out of the oven. They were a kitchen staple, and we used to make hundreds of these per day at the restaurant in the Park Hyatt hotel in Chicago back in the mid nineties. The trick here is to cook them long and slow at a very low temperature. You want them to have shrunk in size and quadrupled in flavor. They are an excellent canvas for all sorts of interesting tomato things. They are like gold stored in the fridge, and discovered after a long day, and little energy to cook. I like to use them simply tossed into pasta with a bit of olive oil, fresh basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano. They can also be incorporated into an existing sauce to provide super concentrated flavor. Try them on pizza instead of or in addition to sauce. This is a masterful method in which once discovered will not be relinquished. We used to add them to our famous “bar pizzas,” at the Hyatt. Hungry, buzzed bar patrons would rave about our thin crust and tantalizing toppings. Truth be told, the crust was a large flour tortilla topped with any combination of good melting cheese we had lying around. Next, another flour tortilla would rest atop the cheese. Then we would add our toppings, and bake in a 400 degree oven until cheese was nicely golden. Each day the toppings would differ, depending on what we had lying around. A customer favorite was, oven dried tomatoes with goat cheese, roasted red and yelllow pepper, wild mushrooms, Fresh Basil, and plenty of parm. As good a pizza as you’ll find anywhere, and the crust will amaze you. I’ll provide some insights and ideas on the pizza at a later date. For now master these luxurious condiments. And, have a glass of wine…or beer while you wait.
Sante!
Ingredients:
-The freshest Plum Tomatoes you can find ( like to make about 15 tomatoes or thirty halves at a time)
-Chopped fresh Thyme
-Your Best Olive Oil
-Kosher salt
-Sugar
-Sherry or Balsamic Vinegar
Method and Technique:
-Cut the Tomatoes in half lengthwise
-Sprinkle each Tomato lightly with salt, sugar and fresh Thyme
-Toss in either Olive Oil only, or in a Vinegrette using either Balsamic or Sherry Vinegar
-Place on a rack (like the ones used to cool cakes/pies) atop a sheet pan cut side up
-Bake in a pre-heated 175 degree oven for 4-5 hours or up to 24 hours in an oven using only the pilot light.
These are unreal and when you taste them, your world according to Tomato will have been changed forever.
