Cook Crook Creation: Roasted Tomato and Basil Spread

I was so happy with the batch of roasted tomatoes I made and couldn't wait to use them for my upcoming wine and cheese party. It obviously my first batch didn't make a lot so I didn't feel right just putting them out as a topping for a charcuterie plate. I turned my attention to making something I could incorporate the tomatoes into and not lose the wonderful flavor.

A quick scan of my fridge revealed an 8 ounce block of neufchatel and some more of that wonderful fresh basil paste...and in my mind I thought "spread!" And having a food processor made this super easy!

1 cup of roasted tomatoes
8 oz of neufchatel or low-fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons of basil paste OR 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil

Add roasted tomatoes to food processor and finely chop. Add basil and blend again. Add cheese to food processor in 1-inch cubes, pulsing after each addition. Once last of cheese is added, blend quickly and  this should be your result:

Scrape the ingredients into a serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

I served it with crostini and various crackers but one of my friends who really enjoyed it suggested using it on a wrap or sandwich. So the next day, I spread it on a low-fat tortilla, topped it with deli turkey and romaine lettuce and wrapped it up into a delicious lunch! This spread will certainly become a staple to have around for entertaining and to enjoy!

Simple Steps: Oven Roasting Tomatoes

While I have planted herbs, I have yet to attempt a garden. Luckily, a very good friend of mine has one every year as do my parents so I very often reap the benefits of their hard work and excess crop! So when my friend Mary asked if I wanted any Roma tomatoes, I said "you betcha!" Then in keeping with my plan to try new things and use fresh ingredients all inspired by Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home, I decided to attempt something I never have with tomatoes: oven roasting them.

First let me say that Chef Keller's book is not only informative, but beautiful:

Per his detailed instructions, I put a large pot of water to boil with the insert inside (which I continue to find useful for blanching) and while the water came up to a boil, cored my tomatoes and using the paring knife, made X's in the bottom, following Chef Keller's tip to take the X into the sides of the tomato. 

Then into the pot they went:

It literally took a minute for the skins to wrinkle and pull back and once plunged into the ice water, they were already starting to peel themselves. I let them cool a few minutes and then halved them. At this point I discovered two things: 1) I need to sharpen my pairing knife 2) I need some practice coring! It wasn't the end of the world as I just removed any remaining core when I halved them. Then onto a foil lined baking sheet they went:

The next step per Chef Keller is to drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and he added sprigs of thyme. I was going for a particular flavor after getting inspiration from a new Foodie Find: Savor the Olive in Virginia Beach. I am going to feature some information on their products in a future post so just know that I purchased a bottle of their chipotle infused extra virgin olive oil and it was so delicious, I decided to use it on these tomatoes! Therefore, I only salted and peppered them as the seasoning and popped them into the 200 degree oven for 5 hours. The result:

I couldn't help but put one into my mouth (and then another) and the flavor was AMAZING! Chef Keller advises to pour the oil left in the pan onto the tomatoes in whatever storage container you choose to use and that they keep in the fridge up to a week. I am looking forward to using them for this Saturday's wine and cheese party. But next time, I want to be able to fill the jar...anyone have any tomatoes to spare?