What to do with tomatoes?

[Elisabeth]

I am about to be absolutely overwhelmed with tomatoes from the garden and I'm trying to plan ahead with recipes. The last couple of nights, we've had plain sliced tomatoes just because I didn't feel like being creative, but I'm going to try to be better. Any suggestions, besides sauce?

[karen w]

I recently made a delicious tomato pasta dish that I got off TV Food Network. It was very simple:

Linguine with Raw Tomato Sauce
3# very ripe tomatoes
3T. red wine vinegar
1/4c. + 1T. olive oil
1/2c. coarsely chopped basil
2T. finely chopped garlic
1# linguine
salt and pepper
1/2c. fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
coarsely chop tomatoes making sure to save all the juices. Place in large bowl. Add vinegar, 3T. oil, and basil. Add remaining 1T. oil to skillet. Saute garlic on med. 3 min. Add to tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let tomatoes sit at room temp. at least 4 hours. Cook and drain pasta. Toss pasta with 1T. oil and cheese. Divide pasta among 4-6 bowls. Top each with about 1c. tomato chunks, using slotted spoon. Ladle some tomato liquid around each
bowl.

I also tried the tomato basil soup in last months issue. It was very good. Or you can just make pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes, and freeze for a taste of summer in the winter. Oh yeah, you can make a panzanella(Italian bread salad) with lots of tomatoes, and finally...last summer I made a summer vegetable stew with romesco sauce that was absolutely delicious. It was from July or August issue last summer. If you need the recipe, let me know. I'll try to find it.(I better...I want to make it again soon now that were getting into pepper and tomatoe season.) Lots of luck.
Karen

[lorilei]

Here's a recipe or two that might help! Most of these recipes call for Roma tomatoes (which is ideal), but I've made them with regular bush/beefsteak tomatoes with good results (different, but good).

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Happy tomato eating! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

TOMATO ONION TART

2 large onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), sliced thinly
2 tablespoons olive oil
butter pastry dough for a single-crust
1/2 pound Jack or Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
1/2 pound plum tomatoes cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1/2 pound medium yellow tomatoes (about 2) or 1/2 pound plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1/4 cup Niçoise olives, pitted

In a large heavy skillet cook onions with salt to taste in oil, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 20 minutes. Remove lid and cook onions, stirring occasionally, until golden and any liquid evaporates. Remove skillet from heat to cool onions slightly.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll dough into a 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Fold round in half and transfer to a 12-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim or a 12-inch quiche dish. Unfold dough, easing to fit, and trim overhang to 3/4 inch. Fold overhang toward center and press against side of pan or dish. Spread onion mixture over dough and top with cheese. Arrange tomato wedges and olives in concentric circles over cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Bake tart in middle of oven 1 hour, or until pastry is golden, and cool on a rack. Remove rim of pan if necessary.

Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: You can bake this in a pie plate with a regular pie crust if you like -- it's excellent with a mixed green salad in the summer!

__________________________________

LAKEHOUSE BED & BREAKFAST
PARMESAN STUFFED TOMATOES

1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped chives
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 medium size, ripe tomatoes
4 ounces unsalted, melted butter

Combine bread crumbs with Parmesan, parsley, chives, tarragon, and pepper. Mix onion, seasoned bread crumbs, and melted butter. Cut tomatoes in half (horizontally) and seed them. Fill with bread crumbs and bake in buttered baking dish for about ten minutes at 350 degrees. Starting with room temperature tomatoes reduces cooking time and helps assure a firm tomato is served.
______________________________________

Baked Tomatoes

4 large plum tomatoes
Olive oil for brushing tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 small garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper

Halve the tomatoes horizontally and trim the ends so that they will stand level, cut side up. Brush them all over with the oil and bake them, cut side up, on a baking sheet in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients with salt and pepper to taste and divide the mixture among the tomatoes. Drizzle oil over the tomatoes and broil them under a preheated broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown.

[RunnerKim]

How about a panzanella - a bread and tomato salad. I do one I call Bruschetta salad that's basically chopped tomato, day-old bread, basil, red onion, mozzarella, romaine, and a red wine vinaegrette. I also really like the Tomato panzanella with provolone and ham that was in CL light a couple of months ago and someone posted on a previous thread.

I like to be adventuresome with my pizzas and will use something besides the traditional tomato sauce (olive oil, dijon mustard, black beans) and then add chopped tomatoes as one of the toppings.

You could also make salsa.

Kim

[This message has been edited by RunnerKim (edited 08-09-2000).]

[Vanessa]

Elisabeth After enjoying and sharing with co workers the abundance of tomatoes you might wish to make tomato sauce with basil to enjoy in the colder months ahead....CL has great tomato sauce (my husband likes chunky type). My tomatoes are SLOWLY ripening (too little sun)

[lindrusso]

Here are a few recipes to use some of those yummy tomatoes.

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH LEMON AND GARLIC

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup chopped tomato (or 1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, undrained)
4 ounces dried spinach angel hair pasta
4 ounces dried angel hair pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and maintain at a boil.

2. Put the olive oil and garlic in a saute pan and cook over medium heat just until the garlic begins to turn brown. Remove the saute pan from the heat and pour in the wine. Return it to the heat. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the wine has been reduced by half. Stir in the lemon juice and tomato. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Place the pasta in the boiling water and cook to desired doneness, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drain the pasta and put it into a warm serving bowl. Add the basil, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper, along with the tomato mixture. Toss and serve immediately.


TOMATO-ZUCCHINI GRATIN

3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
4 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Mix together the Parmesan cheese, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.

2. Arrange half the zucchini slices in bottom of an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish; top with half the tomato slices. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese mixture. Repeat, ending with the cheese mixture. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with a slotted spoon.


And I know you said "besides sauce", but this recipe is easy and different, so I included it too.

ROASTED FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

4 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
8 to 10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut tomatoes lengthwise into quarters and arrange them in layers in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle onion and garlic around the tomatoes and drizzle the oil over the vegetables. Roast the vegetables for 50 to 60 minutes or until the tomatoes are lightly browned and the garlic is tender when pierced with a knife. Transfer the mixture, in batches, to a food processor and chop coarsely or puree until fine. Add salt and pepper to taste and chopped herbs.

Here's a gazpacho recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book that I modified slightly. I usually throw in any fresh herb that I have on hand.

GAZPACHO GRANDE

1 large cucumber, peeled and halved lengthwise and cored to remove seeds, divided
1 large tomatoes, peeled, cored, and seeded, divided
1 green pepper, halved and seeded, divided
4 scallions, chopped
3 cups tomato juice, divided
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt, if desired
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
dash Worcestershire sauce
about 2 tablespoons of fresh, chopped herbs (such as oregano, basil, and rosemary)

1. In a blender, combine half the cucumber, 1 tomato, half the green pepper, and 1 cup of the tomato juice. Puree the ingredients at high speed.

2. Chop the remaining cucumber, tomato, green pepper, and scallions. Pour the puree into a large serving bowl or tureen, and add the remaining 2 cups tomato juice, the vinegar, oil, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and garlic. Add chopped vegetables. Refrigerate the gazpacho, covered, for at least 2 hours. Check seasonings before serving and adjust if necessary.


ENJOY!!



[This message has been edited by lindrusso (edited 08-09-2000).]

[Abby]

I would definitely make the Greek Spaghetti with Feta from the CL 5 Star Recipes cookbook. It is awesome!!! I think the recipe says to spoon the topping onto the noodles but I like to just mix it all together. I'll post the recipe when I get a chance. It's one of my favorites for fresh tomatoes.

[Leanne]

An old tomato stand-by for me is sliced tomatoes with slices of fresh mozarella cheese in between & fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, maybe olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. I eat that all summer long.

[cookgirl]

Elisabeth-
Several years ago I was a nanny for a little boy.

During my employment, his parents started a vegetable garden...which in turn grew and grew..until things were out-of control. By my third year...we had every sink full of tomatoes. They were forcing me to take them home. once...they even gave some to a friend of mine who was visiting!!!
we made sauces , we stuffed them, we sauteed them, ate them fresh...on salads.. and finally started to freeze the suckers whole. (They had two refrigerators and a large freezer FULL of tomatoes!!! )
The reason for my spiel is to tell you that the thawed tomatoes (thawed in the refrigerator) seemed to work wonderfully in every way but raw. Perhaps you ought to consider this?

[LauraEllen]

Every year around labor day my husband and I spend most of a day on a tomato-sauce assembly line. We will start with anywhere between 20 and 30 pounds of the ripest we can pick. We don't add much else except a little onion and some fresh garlic and herbs. We blanch them, seed them and throw them into all of our biggest stewing pots and let them cook all afternoon. What we end up with is about a gallon of rich, wonderful tomato sauce which we freeze in single-use sized containers. When we use them we can add whatever additional seasonings we need. I can tell you, there is nothing like pasta with REAL tomato sauce in the middle of January!

[Connie]

Elisabeth,
Here's a recipe I got off the CL website last July. It was a big hit!

INSIDE-OUT TOMATO SALAD

4 c coarsely chopped peeled tomato (about 2 1/4 pounds
1/3 c thinly sliced green onions
1/4 c coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp ground sumac or 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; toss well.

8 1/2 cup servings: 37 cal, 0.9 g pro, 2 g fat, 5 g carb, 1.4 g fiber

It looks great served in a white bowl.

Enjoy!

[Jen]

My Dad doesn't cook a lot, but one thing he makes that is DELICIOUS is fried tomatoes with cheese...actually a pretty low-fat food! He just slices the tomatoes and puts them in a sprayed pan, then tops with a mixture of parmesan (actually, the deli grated stuff works better than fresh), dried basil, oregano, maybe some garlic and/or onion powder, a bit of seasoning salt, and LOTS of freshly cracked black pepper. Just cook long enough for the tomatoes to get soft (to the point where they're almost about to lose their shape). He makes these for breakfast, but I've successfully adapted it to a baked tomato, too...just cut the tomatoes in half, mix up the cheese stuff, sprinkle (liberally!) on top, and bake in the oven at around 400°F (any temp works ok) until they soften slightly. YUMMMM! One of my very favourites. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[MrsReber]

These recipe ideas are great!! I'm printing them all out since I have many many plum tomatoes. I used a bunch of them up yesterday, but I still have lots more! I made a pan full of sundried tomatoes and I may make some salsa or soup today.

I'd like to add this recipe to the list- haven't made it yet, but it sounds very good.


Tomato Pie

1 1/2 pounds ripe, firm, tomatoes peeled and quartered
1/2 pound frozen puff pastry, thawed
3/4 cup shredded swiss or mild cheddar
1/4 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 eggs lightly beaten
salt and fresh ground black pepper

Squeeze tomato quarters gently over a colander to rid them of excess moisture. Chop and leave to drain in the colander.

Roll the pasty out thinkly and line a 9-10 inch fluted pie pan. Sprinkle pastry evenly with 1/4 cup of the cheese. Work remaining cheese in a bowl to a fluffy paste with the butter and cream. Then beat in the eggs and season lightly.

Seasn tomatoes and spread evenly over the pastry. Spoon the egg and cheese mixture over the tomatoes. Place pie on a preheated heavy baking sheet in a preheated over, 425 degrees. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350. Bake pie for 20 minutes longer or until filling is puffed and richly colored and pastry is crisp and cooked through. Serve the pie as an opener or with a salad as a main course.

This came from The Tomato Cookbook. My sister sent it to me two years ago. She must've known we'd be in trouble with all the tomato plants we had!

[Vanessa]

Tomato gremolata
for fish, chicken or use in pasta
2 c finely chopped plum tomatoes
1/4 c fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic Combine all in a small bowl & toss gently.

Uncooked fast tomato sauce
NOTE-You can substitute olivesfor Vidalia onion or yellow bell pepper
3 large ripe red tomato, diced
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 c chopped black olives (SEE NOTE ABOVE)
1 tab fresh basil minced
2 tab balsamic vinegar
1 tab extra virgin oil
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ing set aside at rom temperature
Cook pasta, drain and inmediately toss with sauce. Serve inmediately. Pass parmesan if desired. Don't forget garlic bread!

[Elisabeth]

Thanks for all the wonderful recipes--I'm actually eager to have a sinkful of tomatoes now! Now if I could only figure out what to do with all those cucumbers!!

[MrsReber]

cucumbers? I higly recommend pickles and relish!

[Connie]

I made the fresh tomato lasagna that someone on one of these posts suggested. It was wonderful! The sauce made with the fresh tomatoes is worth the time. As much as lasagnas take time, they are worth it. Both my husband and I think this is the best one I've ever made. It was in the Oct 99 issue. I highly recommend it!

[JeanneW]

I have to put in a plug for the Rigatoni Caprese which is in the search feature. It uses fresh basil, garlic, mozzarella and lots of tomatoes. It's a dynamite dish!

[cookgirl]

Originally posted by Elisabeth:
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes--I'm actually eager to have a sinkful of tomatoes now! Now if I could only figure out what to do with all those cucumbers!!
Elisabeth! Have you considered starting up your own little farmer's market! It sounds like your in too deep. I'm afraid that next, you'll have corn on the cob coming out yours ears!