Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes

Whole cloves of garlic, unpeeled

Olive oil

Fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 225°F (107°C).

2. Halve each tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment or aluminum-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic.

3. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs over tomatoes and gently salt and pepper.

4. Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about three hours.

You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside. This could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes.

You can use them right away or let them cool. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and keep them in the fridge for snacking or add to a variety of dishes in lieu of fresh tomatoes for extra concentrated tomato flavor!

Oven-Roasted Tomato Hummus

I’m a huge fan of chickpeas so I’m always trying out new recipes, incorporating them into the dish or making them the star.

Hummus is a nice introduction to chickpeas for those that have an aversion to the grainy texture of beans. I absolutely love sun-dried (or oven-roasted) tomatoes so I thought it might be nice to incorporate the two. Oven-roasted tomatoes are so easy to make and they taste fabulous! They can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for a week or so.

Oven-Roasted Tomato Hummus, a nice twist on a classic. A little zing from the tomatoes with a huge punch of flavor combined with the subtle creaminess from the chickpeas makes a healthy and delicious snack for any time of the day.

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or 

   soaked if using dried

• 1 cup oven-roasted baby tomatoes

• 3 oven-roasted garlic

• 2 tablespoons of tahini

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

• 2 green cardamom pods

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Spice mixture*

- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds

- 1/8 tsp black cardamom

- 1/4 tsp coriander powder

- 1/8 tsp white pepper

- 1/4 tsp garlic or onion powder

- 1/4 tsp red chili

* The spice mixture can be any combination of spices that you fancy. I try to stay within a theme so the spices are not competing with each other. This particular spice mixture is an Indian-inspired mix.

Oven-Roasted Tomato Recipe

1. Grind all spices of spice mixture until semi-fine powder.

2. In a small pot, bring to a boil chickpeas, green cardamom pods, spice mixture and enough water to cover chickpeas.

3. Once boiling, reduce temperature, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender and water is almost all evaporated.

4. Remove from heat, discard green cardamom and cool uncovered.

5. Place in food processor 1 cup roasted tomatoes, 3 oven-roasted garlic, fresh garlic and olive oil and pulse until blended through, but still a bit chunky.

6. Spoon chickpeas into food processor along with the remaining ingredients and puree all ingredients, adding water to keep the mixture moving and smooth.

7. Serve immediately or chill for an hour to further infuse flavors.

Serve with toasted pita triangles, fresh veggies or anything else you can think of!