October 4, 2012

With so many luscious ‘Debaro’ Russian plum tomatoes harvested at the end of the season, I found various ways to enjoy and preserve the bounty this week.

I was intrigued by the roasted tomatoes featured on the Laguna Dirt blog back in May.

My plum tomatoes seemed perfect for this and I sliced them about one centimeter thick (slightly less than a half inch). After brushing liberally with olive oil, I topped each slice with snipped fresh basil, oregano and thyme from the garden. The tomatoes roasted at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes. (Next time I’d skip the parchment paper).

We ate some of them for dinner and I scooted the rest onto a tray which went to  the freezer. When solidly frozen, I layered them into a container, ready for use mid-winter when I’m longing for the taste of summer tomatoes.

I envision them added to soups, pasta, quinoa or placed atop broiled salmon at the last minute.

With more of the plum tomatoes and some of the dregs that were suitable only for cooking I made tomato soup which we had for dinner with enough frozen for two more meals. In small bowls I set out our favorite toppings for tomato soup: sliced olives, diced avocado, diagonal cut green onions and crumbled feta or grated parmesan. Some winter evening I’ll be very glad I took the time to make this soup at the end of tomato season.

Join Robin, today at The Gardener of Eden for more Thursday’s Kitchen Cupboard posts.

Photo credit: First photo of tomatoes, Susan Bell.