Last year I wrote about a recipe that Molly Wizenberg had written about in Bon Appetit magazine about a dish called Pomodori al Forno, which she called the best appetizer in Seattle. I tried it and agreed that it was, in fact, the best appetizer in Seattle. And I had never even been to Seattle.
A year later, I still make this dish, and I still believe that it is the best appetizer in Seattle. And I still haven't been to Seattle.
Plump Roma tomatoes are slow-roasted with sugar, salt, oregano, and a year's worth of olive oil in a 250 degree oven for 2 hours. They are then let to rest with freshly chopped garlic, parsley, and another year's worth of olive oil for two hours so that the flavors can marry.
The end result is a fragrant, smooth, soft, and fresh dish that is served with crisp baguette slices that are used as a vessel to get said tomatoes into my mouth.
I made this a few weeks back when Jack and I went to Long Beach Island with two friends of ours. The dish is also supposed to be accompanied by fresh goat cheese, but my friend who was at dinner does not like cheese. And he is Italian. For shame.
I highly recommend making this dish. Although it takes some advanced preparation, it has been my go-to summer appetizer for the past year.
And one day, I'll make it to Seattle.
Pomodori Al Forno - Adapted from Bon Appetit
Ingredients
1 cups (or more) olive oil, divided
2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh Italian parsley
1 baguette, thinly sliced crosswise, toasted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 250°F. Pour 1/2 cup oil into 13x9x2-inch glass
or ceramic baking dish. Arrange tomatoes in dish, cut side up. Drizzle with
remaining 1/2 cup oil. Sprinkle with oregano, sugar, and salt. Bake 1 hour.
Using tongs, turn tomatoes over. Bake 1 hour longer. Turn tomatoes over again.
Bake until deep red and very tender, transferring tomatoes to plate when soft
(time will vary, depending on ripeness of tomatoes), about 15 to 45 minutes
longer.
Layer tomatoes in medium bowl, sprinkling garlic and parsley
over each layer; reserve oil in baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with reserved
oil, adding more if necessary to cover. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours. DO
AHEAD Cover; chill up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before
serving.
And just for poops and giggles, let us take a look at my photo of this dish from last year (August 15th, 2008)
![](<a href="http://twitter.com/sporkorfoon"><img src="http://www.twittericon.com/image/twitter18.png" title="By: TwitterIcon.com" border="0"/></a><br /><a href="http://twittericon.com">By TwitterIcon.com</a>){kind=link}
The amount of oil does kind of freak me out but the tomatoes look really delicious!
Posted by: Ashley | August 14, 2009 at 10:23 AM
T,
I roast cherry tomatoes every week with a splash of balsamic and keep them in the fridge for crostini toasts.
My favorite snack! especially w/ a swipe of ricotta cheese!
Posted by: Stacey Snacks | August 14, 2009 at 10:59 AM
I live in Seattle and have never tried this.. so ty, I am going to now.
Posted by: alice | August 15, 2009 at 03:20 AM
Teanna, these tomatoes look gorgeous.
Posted by: Lori | August 15, 2009 at 11:33 AM
I remember reading that article by Molly Wizenberg and thinking that I had to try that I recipe. Then it somehow got lost in my piles and piles of cooking magazines. So, thank you for the reminder. I am printing this out immediately!
Posted by: Cookin' Canuck | August 16, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Wow, they look delicious (and I bet they'd be great tossed with cooked pasta and a handful of basil...)
Posted by: Leslie | August 16, 2009 at 10:27 AM
These look amazing!
Posted by: Michele | August 16, 2009 at 03:28 PM
I made this today... the waiting was just about killing me it smelled so good. In a word... amazing! Thanks for sharing =)
Posted by: Em | August 16, 2009 at 09:00 PM
Mmmm, looks Dee-licious! And cooked tomatoes are supposed to be great for you as well. Bonus points for this dish :)
Posted by: Jacque | August 17, 2009 at 12:07 AM
These tomatoes look gorgeous!
Posted by: isa | August 17, 2009 at 09:44 AM
These look SO good. Thanks for the recipe!
Posted by: Andrea | August 17, 2009 at 08:58 PM
Oh man, these look delicious! Yum!!
Posted by: cheffresco | August 17, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Those tomatoes look so good! A flavorful recipe!
Cheers,
Rosa
Posted by: Rosa | August 23, 2009 at 01:24 PM
it seems very delicious! i hope i can cooking it!
Posted by: best registry | August 21, 2010 at 08:18 PM
I love that top photo! So gorgeous! This looks delicious.
Posted by: nfl jerseys | September 08, 2010 at 09:57 PM
Sounds great! I love the last photo with bread & tomatoes. Will try cooking this.
Posted by: firepits | January 17, 2011 at 02:33 AM
Hay nice eating stuffs......
These are really enjoyable in group gathering.
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