Tomatoes before oven treatment:

After oven treatment:

I never thought I would admit this, but the words "shriveled" and "shrunken" appeal to me. In a tomato kind of way. When a sweet, ripe, meaty tomato takes some serious heat in an oven and comes away greatly reduced. With its essence concentrated in the shrunken flesh, and all the moisture evaporated, the whithered tomato becomes even more of itself. It's an oxymoron.

Decent tomatoes are starting to appear in markets and grocery stores and I am ready with my arsenal of tools: a roasting pan, fresh garlic, olive oil and thyme from the garden. I start with a fragrant Roma tomato and cut it into eighths. It then gets a bath in a glug of good, fruity olive oil, as well as a toss with chopped garlic, sprigs of thyme and salt and pepper to taste. It's already tasting good. Tomatoes like a hot oven, so don't be shy to crank yours to 425 F. Watch those babies darken and shrink. Give them a toss every 15 minutes or so to let the caramelization occur evenly and to prevent sticking. I say 45 minutes or so in the oven should render your tomatoes tender and soft, ready for the next stage in their lives.

Those of you who are fussy about tomato skins have a couple of options. You could peel the tomatoes before roasting by quickly immersing them in boiling water and then removing the skin. I do this though: I let them roast and cool and then quickly and easily pick off the pieces of shrivelled skin with my fingers.

You are now the proud owner of a pan of intensely aromatic roasted tomatoes. You may, of course, devour them on the spot. Standing at the oven. But do keep some for a magnificent pasta sauce. You can gently press them with a potato masher to futher soften the flesh and pair them with your favourite robust pasta, perhaps penne or fusili. Throw in some grated parmesan cheese, loosen with a bit of the pasta cooking water and call it dinner. I used roasted tomatoes as part of a melange of fillings for calzone last night, adding body and flavour to the mozzarella cheese, sauteed mushrooms, olives and roasted peppers they were accompanying. Grilled chicken breasts enjoy being slathered with a scattering of roasted tomatoes overtop as does a halibut steak. Omelettes filled with your withered wonders and little cubes of fresh mozzarella are a fine idea too. In a quiche, on a pizza, beside some garlicy shrimp, strewn over grilled sausages . . . . . . you get the idea.

The next time you see a nice looking tomato, treat it to some time in the oven.

More inspiration for putting tomatoes to good use:

The new Calgary Farmers' Market was all abuzz this weekend with eager shoppers foraging for fresh fruit and veg, all manner of meats, sweet things, baking, crafts, coffee, bagels, seafood and many varieties of prepared foods. It is quite the scene, busy and bustling, bursting at the seams, much like it was in its previous location. After a stroll and survey of goods, I came upon some basil sellers with jars of pesto lined up on a display shelf which, of course, prompted a little voice in my head to say: "I can do that!". Home I went with a fragrant bag of neon green organic basil which said one thing and one thing only to me: pesto.

Making pesto is like sending your nose on a vacation, yielding a deeply aromatic bright green paste that is most magnificent tossed with some really toothsome Italian pasta. The pungency of fresh basil suspended in an emulsion of peppery extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, gently toasted pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese is the finest example of olfactory overload.

Italian purists in Genoa will tell you the best pesto is pounded up in a mortar and pestle, but my food processor works just fine. Wash the basil and separate the leaves from the stems. Don't worry too much about completely drying the leaves. Some water on the basil actually assists with the blending process.

Pesto

4 cups packed fresh basil leaves; 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted until golden (these burn quickly, so watch them closely); 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 2 large cloves garlic; 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.

Puree all the ingredients together in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste, as well as with a pinch or two of peperoncino if you like. You will have a thick paste. Thin paste with a little bit of pasta cooking water to loosen slightly, enough to coat pasta easily. Best the day it is made but can keep, covered, in the fridge, for a couple of days. Freezes well.

This recipe makes enough pesto for a 1 pound box of pasta. Fusili lends itself very well to this sauce, as its little grooves trap all the flecks and flavour of the pesto. Fettucine is another good pasta choice, as are little shells. You will love the vibrant green tone and intense flavour of this hard-working condiment. It is also excellent stirred into minestrone soups.

Here are some pasta-rific titles you may enjoy:

How easy is this? Buy some homemade roasted vegetable ravioli, boil some water and open a can of tomatoes. Voila, you have dinner! I speak the truth. If you live in Calgary, The Italian Store is THE place you must go to, for there is where your dinner awaits you. With a freezer full of many types of homemade stuffed pastas, you can select the shape and filling that speaks to you: Veal tortellini, cheese ravioli, roasted vegetable ravioli, to name a few. I am currently working my way through a 5-pound bag of roasted vegetable ravioli and am loving every moment of it. The usual treatment is a quick boil, drain and then toss with some great canned tomatoes, preferably San Marzanos, also available at The Italian Store. Buy some hard, aged pecorino romano cheese at the same store and sprinkle a generous grating over your cooked, drained, sauced ravioli.

The shelves of The Italian Store are lined with imported Italian pastas in almost every imaginable configuration, including ones you will not see elsewhere. You may recognize brands such as Barilla and De Cecco as well as La Molisana. Prices are great, so I stock up on everything that looks interesting. Sometimes I splurge on an artisinal brand of beautifully shaped noodles, as even at $3.89 a bag, plus a can of San Marzano tomatoes at under $4.00 each, I am still feeding 4 people for less than $8.00! How else can you do that and know you are giving them the best products on earth? This is not a rhetorical question. I would really like to know if you have an answer.

Taralli, fresh pizza dough, lonza, hot pickled peppers, pear nectar, biscotti, Sicilian olives, Rega canned tomatoes, dried Greek figs, prosciutto salami, Savello cheese, fragrant basil, mascarpone, cannoli shells, lupini beans . . . . . . . the makings of a feast await you at The Italian Store. For me, a visit is like a pilgrimage to a holy sight, the temple of Italian food. Take time for a sandwich and a bowl of hot homemade soup at the lunch counter. And then go home with a carload of goodies to share with friends and family.

Celebrate your inner Italian: