Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta with Grilled Salmon

About this time last year, Cathy at Wives with Knives, shared a recipe for slow roasted tomatoes that she had found in her local newspaper. She mentioned that it was so good that it was now her favorite oven-roasted tomato recipe. I saved the recipe but didn't have a good tomato crop last year.

This year, I have a bumper crop of Chocolate Cherry tomatoes! I knew I needed to do something other than serving them in salads since they are ripening in abundance!

They are the most prolific tomato that I have ever grown and they are bigger than the average cherry tomato and so delicious. I'm not absolutely certain about the name because I bought them last year at the farmers' market, saved the seed from one of the tomatoes, and started plants from that seed early this spring. (I'll be sharing my method of saving seed in a post tomorrow).  Following Cathy's recipe, I halved the tomatoes, but didn't bother scooping out the seeds as she did, because it would have been very labor intensive with small-size  tomatoes.

The tomato halves are tossed with a little sugar and salt and placed cut-side-down on a cookie sheet.  Garlic and onion are sauteed and sprinkled over the tomatoes along with freshly cut basil.  Then, a generous amount of olive oil is added and then the tomatoes are roasted for two to three hours.  I only roasted mine for two hours as they were small.

Two hours later, the lovelies were done.  The skins slipped off so easily after they cooled.  I strained the tomatoes and saved the roasted tomato-onion-basil oil for another use. Cathy suggests using it as a dipping oil for baguettes.  I'm trying that tonight!

The slow-roasted tomatoes made a delicious sauce for the fettucini that I served alongside grilled salmon for our dinner tonight. Oh my goodness, these slow roasted tomatoes are so tasty! I can't wait to harvest enough to make another batch of slow roasted tomatoes for the freezer! The roasted tomatoes would also make a delicious condiment for the grilled salmon.

Your can find the recipe for these delicious slow-roasted tomatoes along with Cathy's tips and suggestions at Wives with Knives here.  Enjoy!

This is my family's favorite recipe for grilled salmon

Grilled Salmon with Garlic Butter
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

4 tablespoons (½ stick) of butter
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Original blend seasoning
Juice of one lemon, strained

1 large, skinless salmon fillet (about 2 pounds) cut into 4 individual portions

Preheat a cast-iron grill or fish grate on an outdoor grill over medium heat. (I prefer to use a cast-iron grill because the skin gets beautifully crispy).

Stir first 4 ingredients together in a small saucepan and cook on stove until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Spray the pre-heated grill pan or grate with nonstick cooking spray and grill the salmon filets for 3-4 minutes, until nicely browned, then turn over with large spatula and grill another 3-4 minutes.

Remove the filets carefully with the spatula and place on a serving platter. Spoon the garlic butter over the filets. Tent the platter loosely with a large piece of aluminum foil and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes before serving.