How to Use Your Tomatoes
Aside from making tomato sauce, what else can you do with your tomatoes? Here are a few ideas:
- Try broiling halved tomatoes for 5 minutes with a little parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.
- Roast them. Halve some tomatoes crosswise, brush them with a small amount of olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Set the tomatoes on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Or try slow-roasting them at a lower temperature for longer--300 degrees for two hours. Roasting tomatoes concentrates their flavor. Enjoy your roasted tomatoes as a side dish or puree them for soups and sauces.
- Sauté them. Cherry tomatoes are great for this. Mix the sautéed tomatoes with your favorite pasta; or spoon them on top of chicken or fish.
- Stuffed tomatoes. Halve the tomatoes crosswise, scoop out the pulp and fill them with your choice of rice, couscous, chopped vegetables, polenta, mushrooms—whatever takes your fancy. Bake the tomatoes at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.
- Place sliced tomatoes on top of a pizza or make a tomato tart with them.
- Make a tomato salad by slicing, chopping or cutting your tomatoes into wedges, and drizzling them with a little oil and balsamic vinegar. Mozzarella cheese is a great partner for sliced tomatoes. Add torn basil leaves and a light vinaigrette dressing to complete this classic salad.
- Make fresh salsa.
- Seed and chop tomatoes, combine with oil and garlic, and spoon on to a toasted baguette for bruschetta.
- Make tomato soup: Gazpacho, a chilled tomato-based soup, for summer, and a hot soup for fall and winter.
- Don’t forget to add fresh herbs to your tomato recipes: basil, mint, cilantro, parsley, oregano and thyme all complement the flavor of tomatoes well. Some people like to add a little sugar before cooking tomatoes; others prefer a smidgen of salt.
Tomato Recipes>>>
