Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I just made charred tomatoes in my cast iron skillet, and saved 3 batches of ***tasteless*** tomatoes. I had 1 pint each of grape tomatoes, campari, and beefsteak, and they had zero taste. I've been wanting to char tomatoes for awhile now, and finally tried it. They now have a great taste. Yay!

Steps/pictures?

In years that I have excess tomatoes, as well as tomatillos, I grill my tomatoes, then I freeze them on a cookie sheet, and FS them, letting them thaw just slightly enough to flatten when being vac-packed. I put amounts that I use in various recipes in the FS plastic - 4, 8, 12 oz. They are great that way! I used to do it just for Mexican, but it's great with other cuisines as well.

Get a cast iron skillet smoking hot, add 1 tsp oil, add tomatoes, and char on all sides. Add salt and pepper. That's it.

I serve charred tomatoes frequently and add finely chopped basil just before serving....just adds another layer of flavor and will work with any fresh herb.

Dave,

FS??

FoodSaver,

Not Dave

I'm assuming the oil keeps the tomatoes from reacting with the cast iron to give off that 'wonderful' metallic tangy taste

Do you know if these taste different from high-heat roasted tomatoes? I usually just layer tomato halves in a baking dish, sprinkle tons of garlic over them, dribble with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and roast at 450 until they get charred edges. Makes fantastic tomato sauce with just the addition of fresh basil or oregano.

It's been awhile since I did roasted tomatoes, but the skillet-charred seem to have a more smoky taste. Also, the tomatoes retain more of their juices.