This past Sunday the boyfriend and I had tentative plans to join some friend’s out on Shelter Island. But after driving to and from the Hamptons the day before for work the boyfriend just wasn’t up for it. Though I was slightly bummed, I understood his plight (especially since I’m a big unlicensed 26 year old loser), I got over it (though forced him to take me to the beach the very next day). He made up for it by bringing me to my favorite Sunday shopping spots: The Cooper Park Farmers Market and The Meat Hook! We bought way too much food for just the two of us (mostly tomatoes) and prepared a decadent dinner. Luckily, I ran into my oldest friend, Spencer, while running out for some pink wine and I forced him to join us. As per usual we had a lovely roof top BBQ and I finally got to make SUN GOLD BUTTER.

A quick history on my interest in making sun gold butter. I only started eating tomatoes (and avocados) after I graduated college in 2009 (I know, I was missing out).  I only truly discovered the deliciousness of a ripe tomato in August during the summer of 2012 when the boyfriend and I were living in the Hamptons. As I have mentioned in former posts, the boyfriend is a (former)(and most definitely future) farmer. He farmed 5 years before taking a hiatus to move to Brooklyn with me so I could take over my family’s restaurant (he stayed because he got a rad job at our friend’s photo booth company, as I’ve also mentioned in earlier posts)(I digress). So the summer of 2012! The boyfriend was farming in Amagansett and we were living in little house owned by the farm. We couldn’t do much, like go out to dinner or drive too far, because the Hamptons are offensively expensive and overcrowded, but we did have one serious perk: FREE ORGANIC VEGETABLES. That the boyfriend grew with his own hands (look how cute my boyfriend is). It was during this time that i realized the beauty that is a ripe tomato and all the different kinds you could have! Tomatoes weren’t just mushy red things I took off my sandwiches, they were STARS of the meal! Juicy, sweet, tangy orbs that came in all shapes, sizes and colors. All they needed was a little salt, pepper and maybe some shallots because I also discovered how much I love shallots that summer. Sun golds, I quickly realized, were my favorite kind of tomato. They were tiny and super duper sweet. And addictive.

So it was during this enlightened state that a farming couple friend of ours (Jess and for the life of my I can’t remember her boyfriends name) told us about sun gold butter: slow roasted sun golds mixed with butter. I mean, could there be anything better than that? Well, after two years of thinking about making it, I finally did and it was amazing. And now I’m sharing the recipe with you!

And if you’re wondering what you do with sun gold butter these are the things I did: put it on bread/toast, put it on spicy chicken sandwiches, friend an egg in it, used it to make garlic scape arugula pesto pasta, and maybe ate a spoonful all on its own while no one was looking.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sun golds, cleaned and halved 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon good sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground peppers

a food processor

PREP

1. Preheat oven to 275°   

2. Take out butter and let warm to room temperature

3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lay out halved sun golds skin side down about 1/2 inch apart.

4. Slow roast sun golds for an 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the sun golds are a bit dried up and the skin is almost golden. Take out and let cool.

5. Put butter, cooled roasted sun golds, salt and pepper in the food processor, pulse until combined. Transfer to small bowl or ramekin and either serve room temperature or refrigerate. (I like room temperature butter – so spreadable)