“Fire Roasted Tomatoes”  the title sounds ominous and maybe it is:  hot, sweet, delicious. “Fire Roasted Tomatoes”…  easy as pie, (which despite our propensity to declare something so easy, pie certainly isn’t), versatile and a must-have in the fridge.  These tomatoes are great in a winter chili, a spring soup, a summer dressing or a fall sauce – year round goodness.  Any recipe that calls for a tomato of any sort can immediately elevate its status with the addition of a bit of a fire roasted tomato.  Honest.  And making them is easy.  You can do this over a grill, but doing so in unnecessarily difficult and if you are using a gas grill, there is no benefit.  Of course if you are cooking over wood or charcoal, you are officially “da (wo)man” and you know what to do from here.  For those working in their kitchen, this is for you:

Start with Roma tomatoes.  They are meaty enough to withstand the heat.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Slice your tomatoes from end to end and place center down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper that has been brushed with olive oil.  Brush the skins with olive oil.  Leave enough space between each tomato to allow the heat to flow around the fruit freely.

Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on your oven.  When done, the skins should all be blackened.  There is a lot – A LOT – of room for error at this point, do not fear, errors will not ruin this recipe.

When the skins are nice and black, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Once cool, put the tomatoes in a glass container, add a topping of olive oil and store in the refrigerator for deliciousness in your recipes.  I told you it was easy!  And once you are used to having these delicious sweet beauties on hand, you will find an endless number of uses for them. Within a few months, you will wonder how you ever got along without them.  Honestly, you will.