Welcome Summer. Share your favorite tomato recipes?
The tomatoes in the garden just reminded us that Summer has arrived. It was as if, all of a sudden, the transition of Spring to Summer jolted the tomatoes to wake up and ripen. Now, the challenge is keeping up with eating and canning the tomatoes before they fall off the vine. Yes, it’s a problem, but a good problem to be faced with. 🙂
It’s now official, Summer is here and we have to keep up with all the fabulous tomato recipes that this wonderful season brings.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing some of our latest and favorite heirloom tomatoes that we’re growing. But we need some recipes! Obviously, our favorite way to eat heirloom tomatoes are when they’re fresh, with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil.
There are many more ways to enjoy these heirloom tomatoes, so we’re asking for you advice.
Do you have any tomato recipes to share? Please leave your link in your comment below and we’d love to make your favorite recipe and share it on some of our future posts!
Thanks everyone and Happy Summer!
Diane and Todd
brandywine heirloom tomatoes before….
… then Summer arrives… bam! ready to pick
[ad]
Gorgeous looking produce! I love my tomatoes at this time..I have a few posted but this was my favorite, simple and fresh and easy peasy..
http://www.foodnessgracious.com/2012/07/heirloom-caprese.html
Oh your tomatoes look so sweet and juicy – they remind me of the ones my parents grow in their backyard, in sunny Southern California! Despite the cloudy weather here in Ireland, tomatoes grow really well here. This is my recipe for a tomato tart – I make it here all the time. Enjoy, and thanks for sharing your harvest with all of us! 🙂 http://anamericaninireland.com/2011/09/12/this-is-irish-food/
Absolutely gorgeous tomatoes! I’ve grown cherry tomatoes in containers; miss them this year. (http://rake-and-spade.blogspot.in/2011/02/growing-cherry-tomatoes-in-containers.html)
We (at India) have a variety of dishes to prepare with tomatoes – curries, chutneys, pickles, and others. Honestly, I love to eat tomatoes raw. One easy recipe of a tomato curry is: chop tomatoes, capsicums, and onions, and salute them in a little oil. To that, add chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, a little sugar and salt. Add water, if required. Let them cook for a while, garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves, and then serve with Indian bread or rice. 🙂
It looks like you need to set up shop…instead of a Lemonade stand, you need a Tomato stand! I’ll be first in line…. Here’s my favorite way to enjoy ripe, juicy tomatoes {after, of course, I’ve overdone it with just a drizzle of lemon scented olive oil, salt & pepper}
http://www.amyskitchentable.com/2012/07/23/tomato-onion-jam/
I see that you have cherry tomatoes. I got the perfect recipe for you, it is an unusual way to eat tomatoes, but trust me, it is worth it: tomato jam (http://www.dominicancooking.com/2966-dulce-tomate-tomato-jam.html).
When I have heirloom “Sungold” tomatoes coming out of my ears, I slice them in half (but just barely leaving the skin connected on one side) and dehydrate them in my $12 garage sale dehydrator. I usually dry them from 8-10 hours, just enough so they aren’t brittle. Then I load them into freezer bags and toss them in the freezer. I have sweet little “sun-dried” tomatoes all winter long to enjoy in stir-fry and other dishes, where the tomatoes get re-hydrated.
When I have much larger tomatoes to deal with, along with lots of green peppers, and since I’m not much of a canner, I get out a good gazpacho recipe (minus any bread), and toss ingredients into my food processor, adding spices that may or may not be in the gazpacho recipe, and then pour this into freezer bags and freeze them. Use these thinner sauces over pasta during the winter, or even throw them in with meat in a slow cooker for an amazing blast of summer flavor!!!
When the tomatillos start ripening, all I can think of is Tomatillo Sauce!!! Pick the tomatillos when they start splitting open their outer skins. Throw them into some boiling water and cook until “fork tender”. Let them cool a bit (for easier handling), and throw them into a food processor with any spices you might want to add. Throw this green sauce into freezer bags and thaw later for covering enchiladas or burritos.
When I want a really fresh summer salad, I use whatever tomatoes are ripe, lots of chopped basil, sliced sweet onions, mozzarella cut into small cubes, and olive oil combined together for a “caprese” salad. Add a bit of balsamic vinegar for a little boost in flavor, but I doubt you’ll need it with all the other fresh flavors!
Home grown tomatoes are so wonderful fresh, I hate to cook them so I like to make a fresh tomato avocado tart. Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.myrecessionkitchen.com/2009/09/fresh-tomato-avocado-tart.html#more
This cuke-tomato-feta salad is a standby in tomato season: http://localkitchenblog.com/2009/07/27/cucumber-tomato-feta-salad/ (and yes, please ignore the way-too-close-up-and-over-sharpened photos…)
This cherry tom confit is fantastic for when you’re overwhelmed with cherrys, as they don’t preserve very well in standard tomato recipes: http://localkitchenblog.com/2010/09/05/cherry-tomato-confit/
And here, you can find all sorts of tomato preserving recipes (scroll down to bottom): http://localkitchenblog.com/recipes/preserves/ My favorites are fire-roasted, tomato sauce with fresh basil and homemade ketchup.
Enjoy your bounty!