Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Nicoise Olive Paste

For the last few days, all our meals have included magazine recipes. My stack of cut-out pages actually got a little shorter for a change. The first item I have to mention is the slow-roasted tomatoes from the March 2008 issue of Food and Wine. There’s a note about how less than perfect tomatoes can be used for this, and it will still be very good. So, of course, it’s fantastic when the tomatoes are perfect. Thick slices of tomatoes are topped with a nicoise olive, basil, rosemary, and olive oil paste. Then, they are roasted at a low temperature for one and a half hours.

To understand this dish, imagine the best flavor aspects of tomatoes and olives with the volume turned up, so to speak, about 20 times. The intensity of the tomatoes’ sweetness accompanied by the olives’ brininess was really amazing. The tomatoes retain a bit of texture but become more tender and delicate after roasting. I realized I was being cautious as I scooped up each slice so as not to spill any of the ethereal olive oil-tomato liquid that pooled around the platter. I didn’t want to waste any of it. There were other items included in this meal, but I can’t remember what they were. Grilled chicken, maybe? Nothing else mattered once I tasted these tomatoes.