Preheat the oven to 375F. If desired, cover a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil to make clean up easy.
Using your thumbs, remove excess seeds and juice from halved tomatoes.
Place halved tomatoes and shallots on pan, cut side up; place garlic cloves in tomato halves; drizzle with vinegar and olive oil.
Sprinkle evenly with Herbes de Provence, salt, pepper, and chile flakes. Scatter thyme over tomatoes.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, rotating pan once to encourage even cooking.
Garnish with basil, if desired. Refrigerate up to 1 week, or freeze in a resealable plastic bag up to 6 months.
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Notes
You can follow this recipe for any tomatoes you have although if the tomatoes you use are small (such as cherry tomatoes) you need to just coat the garlic in oil and toss them alongside the tomatoes.
Fresh thyme is extra delicious with roasted tomatoes but you could also use rosemary, tarragon or oregano which would also work really well.
Feel free to add different spices such as fresh or dried chili, paprika or fennel seeds for different flavor combinations.
Red or white onion can be used instead of shallots, you'll probably only need about 2 large onions cut into wedges.
Line your baking sheet with foil or baking parchment for easy clean up.
Don't be tempted to turn up the heat to speed up the cooking time as the tomatoes will likely burn and won't have a slow roasted and caramelized flavor.
The tomatoes can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 6 months.