Their flavor is highly concentrated with notes of smokiness, yet the texture is tender and juicy. The tomatoes shine so much on their own that they hardly need any seasoning. They’re as versatile as raw tomatoes - put them in salads or sandwiches or on pizza or crostini.
1 pound ripe fresh tomatoes (cherry, grape, San Marzano, Campari, Roma, on-the-vine, or heirloom), cut in half heightwise
Place cut tomatoes in the air fryer basket skin-side-down. This orientation is important to minimize the leakage of the tomato juices. Cook tomatoes at 240 F (115 C) for 45 minutes. Check on them every 10 minutes or so.
Continue to cook the tomatoes in 15-minute intervals until they are about half their original size (the shrinkage may mostly be in depth. Use the photos above as a guide.) Larger, juicier tomatoes will require more time. The heirloom tomatoes I tried required about 1 hour and 15 minutes in this stage.
At this point, you can either serve the tomatoes or air fry them at high temperature to get a smoky char. This depends on your preference.
To achieve the smoky char, cook the tomatoes in the air fryer at 390 F (200 C) for 5-6 minutes. Again, use the photos in the blog post as a guide for doneness. Be careful during this stage and check on the tomatoes every 1-2 minutes. They will char VERY quickly.
When removing the tomatoes from the air fryer, be careful not to rupture the tomatoes, as the juices contain a lot of flavor at this point. A spoon may be the best utensil to use to remove them.