Tomatoes Caprese - AMPED!

Regular tomatoes caprese consists of thick sliced fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper, olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, topped with mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves.  This is fabulous in the summer when garden tomatoes are in abundance.  However, for the rest of the year, I prefer this recipe for tomatoes caprese-- it can make even the most bland store-bought tomatoes taste dynamite!

*The original recipe roasts the tomatoes for quite some time as you can see.  If you want to get it done a little faster, you can also roast them at 425 for about 30 minutes.  Speeding things up still gets you the same yummy caramelized tomato flavor, but it also makes them a bit mooshy.  They look prettier if you do it the original way.  I say, who cares!  You can also use them as a topping for bruschetta - aka french baguette bread cut up and toasted!

12 roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 ½ T balsamic vinegar

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella - the cheap kind works great too!

12 fresh basil leaves, julienned - a fancy word for cutting things about the width of a matchstick

Preheat oven to 275 degrees

**To be honest, I do not measure out these things much anymore.  I just toss my garlic in the food processor to get it tiny, and sprinkle/drizzle my tomatoes generously with all ingredients!  But, if you want to be more precise. . .

Arrange tomato’s on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to carmelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than ½ inch think. If the slice of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut them in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.