Everyone buys tomatoes with the hopes that their texture is luscious and their flesh is fruity. But we never really know what’s hiding inside that glossy, gorgeous skin…looks are often deceiving (sounds like a couple people I know). Well, I recently bought some really, really crappy tomatoes (But really, what was I expecting in January?). Completely worthless. Or maybe not…

Ingredients

• 8 Roma tomatoes, 1/4’d
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 4 whole cloves garlic
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• handful of thyme and/or rosemary
• 3 glugs + 3 glugs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method

Before we get started, understand that this recipe is totally lax. Pick and choose your own quantities, herbs and types of tomatoes. This is a guide for a technique, more than a recipe.

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Take an oven proof dish or pan and add 3 glugs of olive oil and the rest of the ingredients.  Place the dish/pan into the oven and roast for 3 hours, any longer and you should keep your eye on it. Take the pan out when the colors are caramel-y and the veggies are good and wilted, but not burned.

In a blender, or food processor, add the roasted veggies & about 3 more glugs of olive oil. I had about 8 oz. of unsalted tomato sauce open in the fridge, so I added that as well. Blend it all up until it’s reached a nice, smooth consistency.

Serving options

• Serve immediately, store in the fridge for a few days or freeze it
• Strain through a fine mesh strainer and serve hot or cold as a soup