Roasted Smoked Tomatoes- preserving your harvest

An easy, off the cuff way to preserve loads of tomatoes, roasted smoked tomatoes brings some extra oomph to your pasta, bruschetta or favorite tomato dishes.

In my escapades to try to use and preserve 40 lbs of tomatoes , I have found these roasted smoked tomatoes to be the easiest (and my favorite) way to preserve tomatoes. I simply smoked the tomatoes for 30 minutes, roasted them in the oven for one hour, allowed them to cool and froze them. Diced and tossed with goat cheese and angel hair pasta, roasted smoked tomatoes are an absolute dream. Creamy smoked tomato soup and a homemade naturally sweetened barbecue sauce are the docket to make very soon. I can only imagine what the smokey, brightened tomato flavor would do for bruschetta.

I want roasted smoked tomatoes but I don’t have a smoker

No worries. I am going to show you how to smoke tomatoes even if you don’t have a smoker. I own a stovetop smoker by Cameron’s . It’s small, only $50, and makes all my smoking dreams come true (plus it can double as a roasting pan. #minimalismwin). But the stovetop smoker method can easily be replicated using other cooking tools. Here’s what you’ll need:

• A sheet pan with rimmed edges

• A rack that fits inside the sheet pan

• tin foil

• smoking chips (I used hickory)

With these tools and a little McGyver-ism, you’ll be making roasted smoked tomatoes in no time.

Step 1.0

First, heat your oven to 350 F/180 C/gas 4. Line your sheet pan with tin foil. This step is optional but it just helps with clean up a little. Next, place about a tablespoon of your smoking chips in the middle of the sheet pan. No need to soak your chips!

Step 2.0

Next, spray some nonstick cooking spray all over your baking rack. Place your rack in the sheet pan on top of the foil. Place the cut tomatoes, cut side facing up, on top of the rack and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Finally, cover the sheet pan, with the exception of one of the shorter sides, and tomatoes with tin foil so that there is a little room over the top of tomatoes to vent but the edges are sealed as well as possible. You want to keep one edge open so you can get a peek at whether the chips are smoking before you seal it.

Step 3.0

Turn your stove top burner on to medium heat (this works best with a gas stove but electric will work too). Place your sheet pan on top of the burner so that the pile of wood chips is right under the heat. Then watch and wait. As soon as you see your first puffs of smoke form, seal down the last edge of foil so that very little if any smoke is leaking out (use oven mitts yo!). Lastly, put the sheet pan in the oven and let smoke for 30 minutes. Voila! Smoked tomatoes. Now all that’s left is an hour of roasting the smoked tomatoes on a clean sheet pan for 1 hour.

Storing Roasted Smoked Tomatoes

The final step to store your roasted smoked tomatoes is freezing them. Allow your roasted smoked tomatoes to cool. Spray two baking sheets or aluminum cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and place the cooled tomatoes in a single layer in the baking sheets. Next, place them in the freezer for 4 hours of over night, until the tomatoes are frozen solid. Lastly, pull out the tomatoes, take them out of the pan (they should break out fairly easily) and place them in a large freezer bag. Wrap the freezer bag in tin foil (to protect against freezer burn) and stick it in the freezer for when your ready to cook with those smokey gems.

Cooking with Roasted Smoked Tomatoes

So now you have a freezer full of roasted smoked tomatoes, now what? Here are some ideas of how to use all those tomatoes you just froze.

• Substitute for diced tomatoes Have a recipe that calls for diced tomatoes? Pull out some roasted smoked tomatoes the night before and place them in a container in the fridge. Dice them up and use them in your favorite chili, curry, tomato sauce, etc.

Substitute for diced tomatoes

Have a recipe that calls for diced tomatoes? Pull out some roasted smoked tomatoes the night before and place them in a container in the fridge. Dice them up and use them in your favorite chili, curry, tomato sauce, etc.

• Crushed tomatoes Blitz some thawed roasted smoked tomatoes in a blender to substitute for any recipe calling for crushed tomatoes.

Crushed tomatoes

Blitz some thawed roasted smoked tomatoes in a blender to substitute for any recipe calling for crushed tomatoes.

• Soup or Sauce Making a sauce or soup that calls for tomatoes? Just throw the frozen tomatoes right in. This works best with a puréed sauce or soup where you can just blend it away without having to worry about chopping your tomatoes.

Soup or Sauce

Making a sauce or soup that calls for tomatoes? Just throw the frozen tomatoes right in. This works best with a puréed sauce or soup where you can just blend it away without having to worry about chopping your tomatoes.

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Recipe

Roasted Smoked Tomatoes- preserving your harvest

Ingredients

• 10 lbs/4.5 kg tomatoes, cut in half, core removed
• Sea salt
• Smoking chips (I used hickory)
• Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Instructions

1. SMOKE: Either by using the non-smoker method mentioned in the post above or by following your smoker’s instructions, prepare your smoker. If you are smoking in the oven you want the oven set to 350F/180 C/4 gas. Sprinkle your tomatoes with sea salt and place in the smoker cut side up. Smoke according to your smoker’s instructions for 30 minutes. In my small smoker, I had to make three batches to smoke all 10 lbs of tomatoes.
2. ROAST: If haven’t used your oven up to this point, heat it to 350F/180C/4 gas. Line a clean baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or a sheet of parchment paper. Place your smoked tomatoes cut side up in a single layer on the sheet pan. Roast for one hour. The tomatoes should be slightly firm and a little dried out.
3. FREEZE: Allow your roasted tomatoes to cool to room temperature. Spray a rim-edged baking sheet or cake pan with cooking spray. Place the tomatoes on the sheet pan in a single layer and freeze for 4 hours or overnight, until the tomatoes are frozen solid. Break the tomatoes out of the pan and place them in a large freezer bag. Wrap the bag in tin foil to protect against freezer burn. Keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Use in any recipe calling for cooked tomatoes.