Roasted tomatoes with garlic and herbs

I've made tomato sauce in past years, but this year I wanted to try something different with the 25 pounds of plum tomatoes that I snagged at the farmers market -- something that would allow me to use the tomatoes to make sauce for lasagnes or chunky in pasta or added to soups. Although I can always used store-bought canned whole tomatoes, I like having something a little more special on hand.

I found this preparation -- it can hardly be called a recipe, actually -- in Tamara Murphy's cookbook, Tender.  Tamara's recipe calls for finishing the roasted tomatoes with a drizzle of balsamic.  I left that off the ones I froze, not knowing exactly how I'll want to use them.  For those that I used fresh that I did drizzle with balsamic vinegar, they were really nice and made a lovely dinner tossed with penne, veggie Italian sausages, and some good cheese.

Roasted tomatoes with garlic and herbs
adapted from Herb-roasted Tomatoes in Tender

plum tomatoes, washed and halved lengthwise
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
10 cloves of garlic, peeled
lots of sprigs of thyme and rosemary

Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking tray.  Drizzle generously with the oil and add salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the cloves of garlic around the tray as well as a generous number of thyme sprigs and two or three small rosemary sprigs.  Bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender but still retain their shape.  Cool and use or pop them into freezer bags and freeze immediately.