If you're an onion hater, this dish will convert you. Slow-roasting onions releases their natural sugars slowly without burning them, so that by the end they're smooth, slippery and taste like caramel.
The tomatoes undergo a similar transformation: they become soft and sweet, and their flavors become incredibly concentrated.
And the fennel...well, you get the drift: soft, sweet and delicious.
The technique is simple (I feel like I've said that before...): roast thick slices of the veggies in a medium-hot oven for an hour or so. Instructions below are in slightly more detail, promise.
Slow-roasted onions, fennel and tomatoes
serves 4-6.
3 nice, large, red tomatoes, cut into four slices each
2 white (not yellow) onions, cut into four-five slices each
1 bulb fennel, fronds removed, cut into five-six slices each
good olive oil
salt
pepper
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Places the slices randomly on two cooking sheets. feel free to smoosh and squeeze them so that they all fit. It'll only make things taste better. Plug the spout of your olive oil bottle with your finger and drizzle the oil over the vegetables. use your fingers to spread the oil so that it coats the exposed surface of the vegetables. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Cook on 300 degrees for about an hour, flipping onions and fennel once at the halfway point. Leave the tomatoes alone as much as possible. You'll know it's done when onions are caramel-colored and soft and your kitchen smells ridiculously good.
To serve: layer vegetables on a white tray: onion or fennel on the bottom, then tomato, then fennel or onion.
