Easy Recipe for Phyto-Rich Roasted Cherry Tomatoes With Turmeric

I think people are getting the hang of it.

Turmeric I mean. I think not only are they learning how to properly spell it (not tumeric), but they can pronounce it too (correctly with two “r” consonants)! YAY for linguistics! (I have a secret love of language and linguistics–I wish that had been my college major. Seriously!)

But back to people. They’re also realizing the use of turmeric beyond South East Asian cuisine. I’ve certainly realized from teaching culinary medicine classes that we need to create recipes that are more approachable, yet use turmeric and other healing spices without affecting too much of the true original flavor.

I LOVE (and so do my students) these easy to make Italian-style roasted tomatoes.

Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Turmeric and other Healing Spices

So they don’t taste like curry, which is a good thing in this case. But they have turmeric in them, just a little, because more would be a bit too overpowering in my opinion. The general individual shouldn’t have to take turmeric supplements if you do this type of thing: sneak a little in here and there in your cooking, when it makes sense. Use the dried powdered turmeric or fresh grated if you can find it. But it doesn’t matter which form you get it in (at this point in my research), it’s that you get it in with a  little black pepper to make the curcumin (the phytonutrient) more bioavailable. Here’s a great article summarizing other benefits of turmeric (and curcumin).

By the way, these are the kind of little tidbits of information you get from myself and Dr. Shelly when you take our culinary medicine classes. She’ll present you with more about the evidence behind the science and we’ll answer questions like how much turmeric do you really need every day and so so much more. We just posted another class and more will come in the Fall!

Back to this recipe: it’s not only turmeric that’s the star of this recipe. I call it phyto-rich because marjoram and oregano, even DRIED, are powerhouses of antioxidants. They raise the antioxidant value exponentially! Now, here you go!

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Easy Recipe for Phyto-Rich Roasted Cherry Tomatoes With Turmeric

This EASY recipe uses summer cherry tomatoes or even year-round ones, since the slow roasting brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. I created this recipe when I had cherry tomatoes lying around that were getting a little wrinkled and losing their moisture and so were not ideal for eating alone or in a salad. Slice them up, douse them with healing spices and herbs and roast them. They are fantastic on the their own or served into a pasta dish or a side of roast fish.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds cherry tomatoes, all sliced in half
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, tossing well.
3. Spread out the oiled seasoned tomato halves on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through. When done, they should still be a little bit juicy and not totally dried out. Some of the juices might even leak out and stick to the pan. Eat these tomatoes as is or throw them into a pasta dish or as a side with heart-healthy fish.

Notes

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