Hey there! Question for you today - how often do you decide not to meal or ingredient prep for the week and instead pick up fast food or dine out because those "light" recipes you find in magazines are boring and bland or whatever you cook up is typically tasteless???
Well, today I may have a solution for you. Today I'm sharing my Oven Burst Cherry Tomatoes. I'm usually not so absolute but I mean it when I say these guys make pretty much any dish better (which is why, if you follow me on Instagram, you probably see these so often!) Even if you are not a tomato lover, I would at least give these a try. Whether you roast or broil them, the cooking of these under high heat brings out their sweetness, replacing some of that strong acidity you usually find with raw tomatoes.
I use this recipe to give depth and flavor to so many meals and snacks. When added to less-seasoned dishes the tomatoes add bursts of sweetness and their juices gently permeate throughout, lending a totally new element to the dish. I love roasting up a batch of these and keeping them in my fridge for the week. They are the perfect addition to so many of my simpler dishes that I throw together between meetings or in the morning with my eggs.
If you find yourself pressed for time during the week and those meals you throw together in minutes are usually bland and lacking, I highly recommend trying to add some of these sweet yet savory tomatoes to your dishes. It's such a quick and simple way to add tons of flavor!
So here you go - the recipe for my Oven Burst Cherry Tomatoes.
Happy Fueling!
Taylor
OVEN BURST CHERRY TOMATOES
INGREDIENTS
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt ( I use a pinch - not a lot at all)
Optional - fresh or dried herbs, such as Italian Seasoning, thyme, rosemary, oregano
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat a broiler on high.
2. Cover a small to medium - sized baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
3. Rinse the tomatoes, pat dry, and add to a medium-sized mixing bowl.
4. Add in 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) olive oil.
5. Add in a pinch of salt (about 1/8 teaspoon) and any herbs you choose to add (my go-to's are often about 2 teaspoons of Italian Seasoning or 1 tsp thyme + 1 tsp oregano, OR I keep it simple and just add the pinch of salt!)
6. Stir all together with a rubber spatula until oil and salt is well dispersed over all tomatoes.
7. Spread tomatoes out on parchment - lined baking sheet.
8. Place your baking sheet in the preheated oven (broiler) and let cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring tomatoes at about 4 to 5 minutes for event cooking.
9. Tomatoes are done when they have all started to burst and the skins begin to blacken.
10. Add to dishes immediately or allow to cool and store in an air-tight container to use throughout the week!
NUTRITION NOTES
Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, lycopene, vitamin K and potassium! Did you know that cooking the tomatoes makes their lycopene content stronger and more available to the body?! And the vitamin C in the tomatoes helps our bodies absorb any non-meat source of iron (found in dark leafy greens, whole grains, and more). A great thing to consider for you vegetarians and vegans out there!