Summer gardens’ last hurrah: Tomato and Roasted Garlic Farro

The last of my summer bounty

While you may be loving all that autumn has to offer – assorted squashes, root vegetables and apples- those of us with summer gardens have been harvesting the last of our tomatoes. While they certainly don’t offer the luscious taste of a warm tomato picked from the vine, roasting them certainly brings out their flavour.

Roasted tomatoes are delicious additions to salads and grains dishes or pasta. You can also freeze them in small portions to use during the winter.

If you have an assortment of varieties and sizes, try to cut them in somewhat equal sized pieces for roasting.

Here’s a delicious whole grain-tomato combo which can be made with any kind of grain you have on hand. Barley, sorghum or any grain – gluten-free, if you like- with a little chew would be a tasty offering.

Tomato and Roasted Garlic Farro

12 – 16 oz tomatoes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cloves garlic
2 cups water
3/4 cup farro
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil (plus leaves for garnish)

Preheat oven to 325 °F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut tomatoes into wedges (halves for cherry, quarters for small tomatoes and sixths for larger ones) and place on the baking sheet, skin side down. Drizzle 2 tsp olive oil over tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 1 hours to 2 hours (the longer time for larger tomatoes), or until tomatoes are dried slightly but still soft to touch. Do not let them get too dry. Allow to cool and then dice, if larger pieces used) into 1-inch pieces; set aside.

To prepare garlic, cut off 1/4 inch off the top of the cloves. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and wrap in double thickness aluminum foil. Place in oven alongside tomatoes and bake for about 45 minutes, or until garlic is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Squeeze roasted garlic into a small bowl, add remaining tbsp olive oil and mash using a fork. Toss with tomatoes, being sure to coat them evenly. These steps can be done a few hours ahead and the mixture refrigerated.

Combine water, farro, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir and reduce the heat to a simmer; cook, uncovered, until the farro is tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Toss tomato-garlic mixture, farro and chopped basil together and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with reserved basil leaves.