Roasted tomatoes for the freezer

This year, our tomato harvest has been magnificent – endless tomatoes for months now with no real sign of slowing down. I love fresh tomatoes but there are only so many you can eat so I’ve started cooking some up for the freezer. I’ve done a few things – from ratatouille with carrots, garlic, onions and home grown courgettes to chilli pasta sauces. These roasted tomatoes for the freezer though, are my favourite way of preserving tomatoes when you have a glut. They’re sweet and salty and sticky and just oh so delicious. Give them a whirl…

Here’s how my roasted tomatoes are done:

I’ve not included any measurements because honestly, you can just eyeball the seasoning and do as little or as many tomatoes as you have. One note though, the tomatoes do shrink down. The two trays here equated to probably the equivalent of 1.2ish tins of regular chopped tomatoes.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes – whatever size and type you’re growing.
• Malden smoked salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Smoked garlic granules
• Red chilli flakes
• Olive oil

Method

• Preheat your oven to 200c / gas mark 6
• Cut large tomatoes in half and scatter them all in a roasting tin making sure they’re not too crowded.
• Drizzle liberally with olive oil
• Season with the remaining ingredients
• Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, depending on how big your tomatoes are. They should be softened with some charred bits but still juicy.

Once cooked, simply press the roasted tomatoes down with the back of a spoon to lightly crush them until you have a chunky sauce. Once cooled, put into freezer friendly containers. Use this sauce as a base for pizzas, pasta, chilli or even curries or other tomato based dishes. It should freeze fine for ages – at least 3-4 months and probably longer.

A note on freezing food

You might have noticed these reusable silicone food containers on my instagram over the last year or so. I got a whole set of them for my birthday last year from my sister and they’re fab! They take up less room in the freezer than Tupperware’s because the food lays flat in them. Plus, they go through the dishwasher perfectly (I turn them inside out) and don’t take too much room up in the cupboard between uses. They’re also microwave proof which is perfect for reheating and defrosting whatever you’ve previously frozen in them. Final point – the bag stand makes filling them really easy. If you’ve ever tried to pour soup or stews into a sandwich bags for the freezer, you’ll know how messy it can get!

There are a few different versions available online but here are the ones I have. Go on.. treat yourself!