Introduction: Roasted Tomato Butter

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Quick and easy roasted tomato butter to enjoy year round, even after tomato season is over!

It's always a sad time of year when tomato season comes to an end. I find myself buying up boxes of just about every tomato at the farmers market and then scratching my head trying to decide which way I'd like to preserve them for the winter. Of course there are sauces, roasting, ketchup, and canned tomatoes but I wanted something new. That's when the farmer I bought my tomatoes from, mentioned that he had been making all sorts of flavored butters and I decided to try it. Read along, try it out and enjoy!

Step 1: Things You'll Need:

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Fresh Tomatoes*
  • Butter (1 Stick)
  • Salt to Taste

Instruments/Tools:

  • Glass Bowl
  • Fork
  • Food Processor
  • Cookie Sheet

*I used cherry tomatoes because that is what I had picked up from the farmers market. You could easily substitute other types of tomatoes like heirlooms or roma tomatoes which would significantly reduce the cutting/preparation time but increase the roasting time. Other tomato varieties could be a fun flavor change as well. The ratio of tomatoes to butter is also highly variable. Play with it! For example, add more tomatoes if you enjoy the tomato flavor and roasted tomato chunks.

Step 2: Prepare Your Tomatoes

Cut all of your tomatoes in half. If you are using a larger variety of tomatoes you can cut them into quarters instead of halves to decrease the amount of roasting time.

Note: I also left the skins on my cherry tomatoes. If you do not want skins in your final tomato butter, you will have to remove them which is usually easiest after the roasting step (step 4).

Step 3: Soften Your Butter

Place your butter stick in a bowl. Let the stick soften while you prepare and roast your tomatoes. The longer it is allowed to soften, the easier it will be to mix in your tomatoes later.

Step 4: Roasting

Turn your oven on to 350F.

Lightly oil your cookie sheet, just enough so that your tomatoes won't stick. Place your tomatoes skin side down on your cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Roast your tomatoes for 10-15 minutes or until you can smell the roasting tomatoes. The skins should start to appear dry and wrinkled and the centers begin to bulge.

Allow your tomatoes to cool for 5-10 minutes before moving to the next step.

Step 5: Chop

Once your tomatoes have cooled, add them to the food processor. Chop until you have a uniform tomato blend, almost sauce like.

Step 6: Blending Butter

Add your chopped tomatoes to your softened butter. With a fork, work your new tomatoes into your butter. Continue to blend and mix until you have a uniform butter.

Your butter will be pretty soft at this point. It's perfect to spread! If you aren't ready, place it in a sealable container and store in the refrigerator.

Step 7: Enjoy!

You now have a delicious roasted tomato butter to add a roasted creaminess to any dish. Try spreading it on toast, or using it to sauté vegetables, or as a base for a pasta sauce. Enjoy!