Slow Roasted Garlic & Oregano Tomatoes with Goat Cheese {paleo, gluten free & vegan option}

6 roma tomatoes
6 garlic cloves
handful of fresh oregano
1 tbsp. Italian herbs
1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan sea salt
2-3 tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 cup soft goat cheese *optional

Can you guess what food the French sometimes refer to as pomme d’amour, which means “love apple”? Don’t worry, the “love apple” threw me too! I remember hearing that tomato is a fruit but it boggles my mind to think of pureeing fruit and pouring it over my eggplant lasagna.

Also, who knew there were hundreds of tomato varieties? I can only name a few: the obvious Roma, Cherry, and Beefsteak. Look for a New Girl in the market (and yes that is a tomato variety) or even the Jet Star, Fantastic, First Lady, Berkeley Tie Dye and my favorite, Long Tom! I will have to tell my husband he has a tomato named after him {wink wink}.

Here is a little food science for you, tomatoes are widely known for their rich antioxidant levels like lycopene, vitamin C & E, beta-carotene, and many phytonutrients. Oh and don’t worry if your tomatoes don’t have that deep red color because you will still enjoy all the nutrients they have to offer; especially the lycopene! Even the orange colored varieties are packed with a powerful punch of nutrients!

So add these “love apples” to your meal because they bring a boring plate flavor and pizzazz! By the way, these slow roasted tomatoes tasted perfect with my Eggplant Cakes!

Slow Roasted Garlic & Oregano Tomatoes with Goat Cheese

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours 10 mins

Author: Dawn Rofrano

Ingredients

6 roma tomatoes
6 garlic cloves
handful of fresh oregano
1 tbsp. dried Italian herbs
½ tsp Pink Himalayan sea salt
2-3 tbsp. coconut oil
¼ cup soft goat cheese *optional

Instructions

Wash tomatoes and slice ¼ inch or less.
If tomatoes are very ripe, pushing out the seeds and liquid part will help them roast faster.
Layer slices in a large shallow glass baking dish or a rimmed piece of stoneware.
Drizzle coconut oil evenly over tomatoes.
Cut garlic cloves into slivers and sprinkle over tomatoes.
Sprinkle spices, salt and fresh herbs over the top.
In a 250 degree oven, slow roast tomatoes for about 2 hours or so until the edges are dried.
After the tomatoes are done add the crumbled goat cheese and broil for 6 min until golden.

Notes

I have used different varieties of tomatoes and they all had their own amazing twist! If you need to make this dairy free omit the goat cheese. I like to keep the seeds intact as they do have many nutrients but if time is of the essence squeezing them out speeds up the process. I suggest avoiding aluminum cookware since the high acid content of tomatoes can interact with metal in cookware. I love my stone ware or using glass baking dishes. Please use organic when you can.

With a Spoonful of Health,