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[Turning chair around for “real talk”] So you’re buried in tomatoes, aren’t you. Maybe you had a bumper crop this year, or maybe your tomatoes didn’t do that great so you consoled yourself with a couple flats at the farmers market — that’s neither here nor there, what matters is that your countertops are now groaning with nightshades.
Some people will just bag them and chuck them in the freezer, but if you’ve really stepped in it, there’s not going to be enough room. It’s time to make sauce.
My pals at the “Joy of Cooking” have some tips for dispatching a ton of tomatoes (in their case, an impulse-buy of 30 pounds at last weekend’s Tomato Fest). First, they keep the pieces somewhat large so the skins are easier to catch when the cooked tomatoes go through the food mill. I go the further step by saving those skins and seeds to dehydrate and powder. The waste-free kitchen hack yields basically magical tomato-fairy dust with great thickening power for stews and sauces.
My favorite way to cook tomatoes for sauce is to roast them — it not only significantly concentrates the sugars and glutamic acid for superior flavor (“it almost feels like cheating,” Joy co-author John Becker admitted), it also spares your stove and wall from the spattery mess of bubbling sauce.
And since you’ve already got the oven filled with tomatoes roasting for sauce, you may as well turn one of those pans into dinner, yeah? Once you have a sheet pan of nearly-collapsing tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and herbs, just lay thinly sliced chicken breast (or eggplant) onto the pan, sprinkle mozzarella and breadcrumbs on top, and put it back in the oven. Yes, put the breadcrumbs on top of the cheese, not on the chicken — this is how you keep that crunchy texture without the frying. Even with its many shortcuts, this red sauce joint standby is molto squisito on pasta or as a sandwich. Serves 4
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil plus more for drizzling
3 pounds of tomatoes, cut into 2-3 inch chunks
6 or 7 cloves of garlic
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh oregano and thyme
Salt and pepper
1 to 1 ½ pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
8 ounces mozzarella sliced or grated
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (make your own from 2 thick slices of stale bread)
Minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° and drizzle a rimmed sheet pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Spread the tomatoes, garlic, and herbs on the pan in an even layer, then sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and give it another drizzle of olive oil. Roast until the tomatoes have begun releasing their juices and are getting soft and sticky, about 30 minutes.
- While the tomatoes are roasting, butterfly the chicken breasts by slicing them in half like a book, starting at the thick side and stopping when you get to the 1/2 inch or so. Open the “book” and lay it out flat onto a sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, gently bludgeon the chicken until you’ve got paillards about ¼ inch thick. (If you like, you can divide these into four portions now, or you can cut them up after they’re cooked.)
- In a small bowl, combine the onion and garlic powders, Italian seasoning, and a couple generous pinches of salt and pepper. Season the chicken liberally and sprinkle any leftover across the roasted tomatoes.
- Give the tomatoes and garlic cloves a light stir to mash them a little and redistribute the juices, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Lay the chicken on top, sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and top the cheese with the breadcrumbs. Spoon a little of the tomato-y oil on top.
- Bake until the cheese is melted, the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Garnish with minced parsley and serve with cooked pasta or on toasted hoagie rolls.