Recipes Roasted Tomato-and-Basil Compote Be the first to rate & review! This simple yet delicious compote features meaty, oven-dried plum tomatoes. It's perfect with fish, chicken, roasted vegetables and pasta. Slideshows: More Tomato Recipes By Dave Pasternack Dave Pasternack Dave Pasternack is a James Beard Award-winning chef renowned for his seafood expertise and for introducing crudo to the American culinary lexicon, first served at his acclaimed New York City restaurant Esca in 2000. Called "the fish whisperer" by The New York Times, Pasternak co-authored the bestselling cookbook The Young Man and the Sea (2007).Experience: Dave Pasternack grew up on Long Island with a passion for fishing. Even as he began living and cooking in Manhattan after culinary school, Pasternack would spend as many days off as he could fishing along the Atlantic.After working in mostly French-themed eateries for two decades, he opened the Italian restaurant Esca. There he built a reputation for uncompromising dedication to serving only the freshest from the ocean and leaning into what he did best, cooking seafood. Pasternack famously sourced his fish from over 50 purveyors. He was known to not only haul in the fish he caught but also the wild game he'd shot to use in his restaurant. In addition to Esca, Pasternack opened Barchetta and Barca. He has been featured in such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Gourmet, Esquire, Vogue, GQ, and others. Pasternack has appeared on Today show, Martha Stewart, Lidia's Italy in America, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, and competed on Iron Chef America. He closed Esca in 2021.Education Dave Pasternack is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 4, 2015 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © John Kernick Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Yield: Makes 2 1/2 cups Ingredients 4 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes Boiling water 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt Freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons chopped basil Directions Preheat the oven to 275°. Make a shallow X on the bottom of the tomatoes and transfer to a large heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes and let stand for 1 minute. Drain, peel, halve lengthwise and seed the tomatoes. Return the tomatoes to the bowl. Toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomatoes, cut sides up, on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until leathery, about 3 hours. Let the tomatoes cool slightly. In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes with the basil until coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Make Ahead The compote can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Rate it Print