Tomato Candy or Thin Sliced Roasted Tomatoes

This post might be better posted in August when the fresh garden tomatoes are abundant.  However, a few weeks ago my special friend, Cristy, wanted to share this recipe with her twin. Her twin sister had trouble with burning so Cristy and I decided to work together and take photos as we went.  This recipe is a regular at our house and they are always a success.  I can eat the whole pan by myself.

This recipe was influenced by Suzanne Somer's who authored "Eat, Cheat And Melt The Fat Away."  I looked for the actual recipe in all the books I own by this author and could not find it, but I know I started making it many years ago when I started eating as she suggested (with great results I might add).

It is for this recipe that I have grown tomatoes in my own garden for the past 15 years.

The photo above shows Cristy cutting fresh tomatoes in about 1/4 inch slices.

Next we spread them in the Demarle Flexipan Grande Mold.  It is 11.5 inches in diameter.  Use this mold upside down for pizza bowls too.  A future post of course.

Last summer I dried basil from my garden.  It is almost gone now and next year I will dry larger quantities.  When basil is fresh in the garden I use it in this recipe instead of dried.   Generously sprinkle the dried basil over the tomatoes.

In the next photo which is closer you can see the sheen of drizzled olive oil.  Then sprinkle with sea salt.

The last step before going in the oven is to sprinkle generously with grated parmesan cheese.  Please tell me you are using fresh parmesan cheese.

Bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees.  Then as seen above, open the oven door a few inches, turn off the heat and let the tomatoes sit in the oven for half an hour like this.

In the last photo, you can see they have turned out slightly chewy in texture.  The cheese has crisped up a bit and the slow cooling is what makes the texture so perfect.

This really is an easy recipe. and I make it often.  They are wonderful by themselves or added to salad, sandwiches, pizza, omelets, pasta and more.  When I take them to group parties, they are quickly gone and the recipe is shared around again.

My sister posted a note to my facebook page about this blog...The clean up of the pan you use for this recipe will be difficult unless you use a Demarle At Home product.  So be forwarned.

9-27-14.  Tomatoes are doing great this year.  The yellow pear (mini) produces great.  It volunteered from last year and I kept it to see what it would do.  Some of the tomatoes are really big for this variety. So I cut them in half (thicker than usual) Put them on the Demarle Flexipan and roasted at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Perfect and no waiting for them to get chewy.

October 2015 update: For the past month and a half I have had an abundance of heirloom tomatoes growing in my garden and every couple days I make a pan of these.  Now I am using coconut oil instead of olive oil and baking for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.  Then I turn the oven off without opening the door and let them sit in the hot but slowly cooling oven for 30 to 60 minutes.

April 18, 2017:  I recall a couple years when we had to turn on our air conditioner in Mid April.  This is not one of those years.  It's raining and chilly.  I want some warmth in the house.  On my cupboard are 6 large Roma tomatoes. I sliced them 1/4 inch wide and set the oven to 225 degrees.  I put three Tablespoons coconut oil in the pan to melt and then I will sprinkle the tomatoes with sea salt.  I will report back later how long this takes I expect it to take about three hours at this low temp.  Funny, I forgot what time I put these in.  Maybe 9 A.M.  It is now 12:45. and they are perfect.