Roasting tomatoes maximizes flavour even when the tomatoes used are more on the bland side. It may not be the most practical way to prepare them, the roasting takes a while and the volume is severely decreased, but oh they are delicious. For such a simple vegetable dish it really packs a lot of flavour and can bring something special to a whole range of meals. It is great on toasted crusty bread or english muffins, perhaps with some avocado or some freshly grated parmesan. It can also liven up pasta and eggs or create a base for sauces, soups or stews. Extras can be portioned out and frozen for easy access.
Due to the long roasting time the garlic becomes sweeter and less pungent, so it doesn’t have to be cut too small, and fresh herbs add some earthy and fragrant depth of flavour. If using dried herbs instead, reduce the volume to 1/3 at the most, so 1 tablespoon of fresh would be 1 teaspoon of dried herbs. 
- 3 lbs vine tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°. Place the tomatoes on a parchment paper lined baking tray, cut side down. They can be very closely touching because they will reduce down in size. Drizzle the oil and vinegar evenly over the tomatoes then sprinkle with the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and bake for 1 hour.
