How You Should Use Up Leftover Tomatoes According To Jamie Oliver

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Recently chef Jamie Oliver took to Instagram in a PSA to save all those end-of-the-summer tomatoes past their prime, too wrinkled and soft for a salad but still delicious. Using cherry tomatoes, Oliver halves the tomatoes before roasting them with olive oil, a head of garlic, fresh herbs and seasoning, and a "dash of red wine vinegar." According to The Kitchn, roasting "intensifies" the flavor of the tomato, arguably improving it with a "jammy and caramelized" texture, creating a delicious tomato broth as the fruit breaks down and marries with the other ingredients. 

Oliver uses roasted tomatoes as the base for just about any dish with tomatoes, including pasta, risotto, and pizzas. Although he doesn't provide a recipe, Botanica Magazine suggests roasting any small tomato "ankle-deep in an olive oil pool" at 350 F until the tomatoes begin to burst, about 20 minutes. Once cooled, the tomatoes and their flavorful, garlicky juices will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator or freeze the tomatoes for another day, as Oliver suggests.

Roasting tomatoes is a good technique whenever you find tomatoes too bland to eat raw. Aside from vinegar, a drizzle of honey on the roasting tomatoes will also add sweetness to the out-of-season fruit allowing you to enjoy tomatoes all year long in a variety of recipes. Just another reason why you shouldn't throw away your overripe tomatoes.