When I am being invaded by cherry tomatoes, as I am now, I whole roast them by the buckets, like 2 very large casserole dishes a day. Sunshine yellow Sun-Sugars along with the classic red, all get tossed in olive oil, fresh sprigs of thyme, whole garlic cloves, sprinkled with salt. Roast at 300F in casserole dishes for a couple hours or until they are a bubbly, slightly thickened mass and you've got good dark caramelized splatters all over the edges of the dish and some of the bottom.
Let it cool some and then scrape, rub, massage..whatever it takes to get every drop of that fond off the dish...till you almost don't even have to wash it. Squish out the roasted garlic and put it all in a big measuring cup and let that immersion blender pay for itself. Somehow, the small amount of skin collects around the blade, which you remove and you're left with a smooth sauce that comes out almost orange in color. Freeze in containers and use a stand-alone sauce, it does well with shrimp, or to enhance another.
Fish in tomato broth sounds perfect! Trying that this weekend!
Oddly, now don’t kick me off….I’m not a big fan of tomato sauce. But I love tomatoes. So my perfect sauce is a fresh chopped tomato & herby sauce. I will occasionally bust out a traditional one, but only for others.
So right now I’m in heaven… my fav pizza is not with sauce but thin sliced fresh tomato on paper thin crust on the grill…. Most mornings these days are starting with a chunk of hearty seeded grainy bread, Dukes, sliced tomatoes & basil leaves with a dash of pepper.
Tomato tarts. 🤤 I don’t make sauce to freeze but I do blanch & peel before freezing whole tomato to use later. Last couple of years I used all my end of the year green guys to make a spicy green tomato jam. Killer on pork or really anything.
Fried green tomatoes last year. 1st time. Yup. Turns out those are pretty addictive. 😂
Also loving the bowl of asst grape & cherry guys I keep replenished on the counter…snacks throughout the day.
Now I need some ideas on the abundance of Hatch & Nardello peppers I’m about to have.
I'm a huge tomato fanatic.!!! Fresh in-season tomatoes are hard to beat... Be it your gazpachos, red & yellow, my gazpachos, tomato pies & salads, tomato relishes, various sauces, galettes, gratins, granitas, etc., gotta luv'em.... chilled raw, roasted, grilled, baked, whatever, they're all "Tomato-licious".!!!
AND with all the numerous varieties & colors, heirlooms, Romas, beef steaks, cherry, grapes, etc... providing a cornucopia of flavors, tastes and aromas... VIVA la Tomatoes.!!! May your bushel be always brimming... Enjoy...
Also a big fan of a tomato sandwich as described but with sharp white cheddar slices in place of or in addition to mayonnaise. Bread must be toasted. And if you haven't ever made your own mayonnaise at home, tomato sandwich season is the best time to start making it.
Loved the tomato riffing. A favorite bowl around our house in the Wisconsin summer is orecchiette with oven dried tomatoes, crispy bacon, pecorino, and baby arugula or rapini. One pot starting with the bacon, then as added.
One of my fondest memories of my grandparents is picking fresh tomatoes off of the plants in their backyard. Grandma would slice them up and serve them on white bread with mayonnaise and commodity cheese (generic Velveeta) that Grandpa picked up from the county. Yum!!!
My summer joy is making a number of variations on my "no recipe" pasta dishes from our garden's tomatoes, peppers & herbs, wherein I start by sautéing our garden's different tomatoes, chopped, in olive oil, with garlic, & our garden's oregano, basil, and other herbs, some peppercorns &/or bits of hot peppers from the garden, and a bit of Kosher Salt. Then it may get a splash of Balsamic, &/or wine... or lemon oil, or black pepper oil... Once it's just they way I like it, I may add scungilli (conch) or chopped clams, and probably some capers or chopped calamta olives... and I may toss the pasta with some homemade basil or other herb pesto before topping it with the sauteed tomatoes...
Cherry tomatoes sliced in half go into the dehydrator for about 12 hours, then I preserve them in olive oil in jars in the fridge. Best, freshest, sweetest "sun-dried" tomatoes ever.
OR
Quick pickled cherry and/or grape tomatoes, in a variety of colors, are as fun to look at as they are tasty to eat. Put some in a fancy Mason jar for a beautiful hostess gift.
When I am being invaded by cherry tomatoes, as I am now, I whole roast them by the buckets, like 2 very large casserole dishes a day. Sunshine yellow Sun-Sugars along with the classic red, all get tossed in olive oil, fresh sprigs of thyme, whole garlic cloves, sprinkled with salt. Roast at 300F in casserole dishes for a couple hours or until they are a bubbly, slightly thickened mass and you've got good dark caramelized splatters all over the edges of the dish and some of the bottom.
Let it cool some and then scrape, rub, massage..whatever it takes to get every drop of that fond off the dish...till you almost don't even have to wash it. Squish out the roasted garlic and put it all in a big measuring cup and let that immersion blender pay for itself. Somehow, the small amount of skin collects around the blade, which you remove and you're left with a smooth sauce that comes out almost orange in color. Freeze in containers and use a stand-alone sauce, it does well with shrimp, or to enhance another.
Andrew, have you tried green tomato pie? My grandmother made it like you would make apple pie. It was so good and even better the next day.
Fish in tomato broth sounds perfect! Trying that this weekend!
Oddly, now don’t kick me off….I’m not a big fan of tomato sauce. But I love tomatoes. So my perfect sauce is a fresh chopped tomato & herby sauce. I will occasionally bust out a traditional one, but only for others.
So right now I’m in heaven… my fav pizza is not with sauce but thin sliced fresh tomato on paper thin crust on the grill…. Most mornings these days are starting with a chunk of hearty seeded grainy bread, Dukes, sliced tomatoes & basil leaves with a dash of pepper.
Tomato tarts. 🤤 I don’t make sauce to freeze but I do blanch & peel before freezing whole tomato to use later. Last couple of years I used all my end of the year green guys to make a spicy green tomato jam. Killer on pork or really anything.
Fried green tomatoes last year. 1st time. Yup. Turns out those are pretty addictive. 😂
Also loving the bowl of asst grape & cherry guys I keep replenished on the counter…snacks throughout the day.
Now I need some ideas on the abundance of Hatch & Nardello peppers I’m about to have.
I'm a huge tomato fanatic.!!! Fresh in-season tomatoes are hard to beat... Be it your gazpachos, red & yellow, my gazpachos, tomato pies & salads, tomato relishes, various sauces, galettes, gratins, granitas, etc., gotta luv'em.... chilled raw, roasted, grilled, baked, whatever, they're all "Tomato-licious".!!!
AND with all the numerous varieties & colors, heirlooms, Romas, beef steaks, cherry, grapes, etc... providing a cornucopia of flavors, tastes and aromas... VIVA la Tomatoes.!!! May your bushel be always brimming... Enjoy...
Also a big fan of a tomato sandwich as described but with sharp white cheddar slices in place of or in addition to mayonnaise. Bread must be toasted. And if you haven't ever made your own mayonnaise at home, tomato sandwich season is the best time to start making it.
Tomatoes in season are great! Either just salt and pepper or with mayo.
Hot house ones are tasteless.
Loved the tomato riffing. A favorite bowl around our house in the Wisconsin summer is orecchiette with oven dried tomatoes, crispy bacon, pecorino, and baby arugula or rapini. One pot starting with the bacon, then as added.
One of my fondest memories of my grandparents is picking fresh tomatoes off of the plants in their backyard. Grandma would slice them up and serve them on white bread with mayonnaise and commodity cheese (generic Velveeta) that Grandpa picked up from the county. Yum!!!
Give me more!!!
Yay a cookbook!!!!
I love tomatoes! I’m hoping one day to start a garden and grow many!
My summer joy is making a number of variations on my "no recipe" pasta dishes from our garden's tomatoes, peppers & herbs, wherein I start by sautéing our garden's different tomatoes, chopped, in olive oil, with garlic, & our garden's oregano, basil, and other herbs, some peppercorns &/or bits of hot peppers from the garden, and a bit of Kosher Salt. Then it may get a splash of Balsamic, &/or wine... or lemon oil, or black pepper oil... Once it's just they way I like it, I may add scungilli (conch) or chopped clams, and probably some capers or chopped calamta olives... and I may toss the pasta with some homemade basil or other herb pesto before topping it with the sauteed tomatoes...
Cherry tomatoes sliced in half go into the dehydrator for about 12 hours, then I preserve them in olive oil in jars in the fridge. Best, freshest, sweetest "sun-dried" tomatoes ever.
OR
Quick pickled cherry and/or grape tomatoes, in a variety of colors, are as fun to look at as they are tasty to eat. Put some in a fancy Mason jar for a beautiful hostess gift.
Slow roasted on the grill, drizzled with EVOO and roasted garlic.