Tomatoes

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Recently, on NPR "Here and Now" did a great story on tomatoes. Check out the link for lots of great recipes including a simple roasted tomato sauce that can be canned or frozen!

This salad is a proven winner! So easy to make, so beautiful to look at, so DELICIOUS to eat!

Radical Roots Tomato Salad
  • Tomatoes, quartered or chopped
  • Sweet or Red Onion, chopped
  • A dozen Basil leaves, chopped
  • Olive Oil
  • Cider or Wine Vinegar
  • Sea Salt
  • Feta or goat cheese, if desired
  • Olive, if desired
  • Practically anything else you want to add to this salad would work!
Use a beautiful shallow bowl. I love to use our clear glass pie plate to allow the color to shine through. Place a layer of tomatoes on the bottom, lightly sprinkle with salt and a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar. Add some of the chopped sweet onions and basil. Repeat one or two more layers. Top with a sprig of basil. Serve at room temperature and watch your family/guests/self enjoy!!!


Tomato Cobbler 
Thanks to Martha and Richard for this delicious recipe!
(adapted from Martha Stewart Living, July 2011)
Filling:
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2.5-3 pounds cherry tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Biscuit topping:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • Coarse salt
  • 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese (2 1/4 ounces), plus 1 tablespoon, for sprinkling
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing
Make the filling: Heat oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Let cool.
Toss onion mixture, tomatoes, flour, and red-pepper flakes with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and some pepper.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Make the biscuit topping: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until small clumps form. Stir in cheese, then add cream, stirring with a fork to combine until dough forms. (Dough will be sticky.)
Transfer tomato mixture to a 2-quart baking dish (2 inches deep). Spoon 7 clumps of biscuit dough (about 1/2 cup each) over top in a circle, leaving center open. Brush dough with cream, and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon cheese. Bake until tomatoes are bubbling in the center and biscuits are golden brown, about 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool for 20 minutes.


Patti is a great lover of tomatoes - and lucky for us, she gets most (all?) of them from our stand at Farmers' Market. She especially loves our Pratico - Rutland's Heirloom - Tomatoes! Here is a recipe she adapted from the New York Times.

Tomato Sandwiches
From Melissa Clark (“a Good Appetite” column, NYTImes, 9/2/15) who says, “Eat over the sink."
  • 4 slices crusty bread
  • 1 fat garlic clove, halved crosswise (from Radical Roots)
  • 1 ripe and soft tomato halved   (from Radical Roots)
  • extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
  • sea salt
  • 1 ripe but firm tomato, sliced   (from Radical Roots)
  • mayo as needed
  • thinly sliced white onion
  • 4 slices cooked bacon (optional)
  • (I make it without bacon and onion)
1. Toast bread.  Rub one side of each with garlic clove to disintegrate. Then rub each slice with the cut sides of the soft tomato, pressing so the tomato sticks to the bread (i used the stem end of the same tomato instead)
drizzle bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
2. Spread mayo over tomato pulp. Place sliced tomatoes on top of two pieces of bread, cover with onions and sprinkle with salt (I use pepper too). Top with bacon if using.
3. Use the other two slices of tomato rubbed bread to make sandwiches. (i eat it as open faced sandwiches and make 4 rather than 2 from this recipe.)


Green Bean and Tomato Salad
Bon Appétit | June 2000
  • 1 ½  pounds green beans, trimmed
  • 3 cups tomatoes, cut into chunks
  • 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
  • 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • Feta cheese and almonds, optional 
Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water and drain well. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Pat dry, then wrap in paper towels. Enclose in plastic bag and refrigerate.)

Combine beans, tomatoes, onion and basil in serving bowl. Whisk oil, vinegar and sugar in small bowl to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Add dressing to vegetables; toss to coat. Cover; chill at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours, tossing occasionally. Add crumbled feta and almonds, if desired. Serve salad cold or at room temperature.


Penne with Tomatoes, Basil and Mozzarella
An un-cooked pasta sauce that is perfect for summer meals! Thanks to our friend Jen for this recipe. She exclaims, “Made this with the tomatoes you gave me, YUM! The kids gobbled it up!”
  • 1 pound ripe and juicy small tomatoes, cut in to quarters
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt (preferably coarse sea salt)
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (or minced fresh hot pepper)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 pound penne pasta
  • 10 -20 fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • ½ pound fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces

Toss the tomatoes, oil, salt, hot pepper in a large bowl. Whack the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and toss into bowl. Let marinade at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil and cook penne pasta for 10-12 minutes, until done.

Remove the garlic and toss in the basil. Drain the pasta, add it to the bowl, and toss well to mix. Check seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper as needed. Gently stir in the mozzarella and serve at room temperature.

NOTE: The melting of salt is a chemical reaction that draws the liquid from the tomatoes. The larger the salt crystal, the more liquid it will draw out. That is why coarse sea salts will make a juicer sauce.


Radical Roots TANGY TOMATO SALAD
  • About 20 Plum or Mountain Magic Tomatoes
  • 1 large Sweet Onion
  • 1 bunch Cilantro
  • 1-2 Hot Peppers (any kind you like)**
  • 1 Cucumber
  • Lime Juice, squeezed from half a lime
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Chop everything bite size. Squeeze lime juice into veggies and mix gently. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld. ENJOY!
**The HOT of the hot pepper really comes from the seeds so you can control the heat by the amount of seeds you include.
 
Here's a link to a good number of recipes and suggestions for using all of those wonderful summer tomatoes.

Tomato Zucchini Tart
Blogging Over Thyme 
Try to buy tomatoes and zucchinis that are similar in diameter--as it will make the layering process much easier and result in a more attractive looking dish.
Pate Brisee Dough:
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cold & cut into very small cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/8-1/4 cup ice water (2-4 tablespoons roughly)
Filling:
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup packed basil leaves, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced (1 tablespoon)
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • ~1 lb fresh Roma or plum tomatoes
  • ~1 lb fresh zucchini
  • salt
  • pepper

Prepare & Blind-Bake Crust:
  1. Combine flour and salt in bowl of a food processor. Meanwhile, cut up cold butter into cubes and place in separate bowl. Place both bowls in freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill.
  2. Remove butter and flour mixture from freezer. Add chilled butter to food processor bowl--and pulse several times or until the butter is roughly the size of peas and distributed evenly throughout the flour mixture.
  3. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water and pulse several times. Continue to add water (and pulsing a few times) until dough just comes together. Depending on moisture and humidity levels, the amount of water that you may need will change.
  4. Remove dough to counter top and press together with hands.
  5. Allow to chill in fridge for at least one-two hours (or prepare the day before and chill overnight).
  6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  7. After dough has chilled, remove the dough from fridge. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin--and roll out evenly into a large, roughly 12-13” diameter disc—rotating the dough continuously as you go to prevent sticking. Fold into quarters and transfer to a 10-inch tart pan (with removable bottom). Carefully press dough into sides and corners (without stretching) and roll the rolling pin over top to remove any excess dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill for another 15-20 minutes in the fridge.
  8. Remove and line tart dough with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
  9. Blind-bake for 20 minutes. Remove beans and parchment and if bottom still does not look completely dry, bake for an addition 5-10 minutes, checking regularly. Remove and allow to cool on rack.
Prepare & Arrange Filling:
  1. Meanwhile, combine the minced garlic, finely chopped basil, and olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Using a mandolin (or sharp knife), slice zucchini into 1/8 inch slices. Using serrated knife, slice tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Set aside.
  2. Brush tart shell lightly with basil-garlic oil and sprinkle on all of the parmesan cheese.
  3. Starting on the outside edge, layer the zucchini and tomato slices alternately in a circular pattern--be sure to tightly layer them against each other (as they will shrink once baked). Try to leave the bigger slices for the outside and small slices for the inner circles. Continue until the entire tart shell is filled (you should have two rings--and you can chop up various small pieces to fill the very center).
  4. Brush vegetables generously with with basil-garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until the tomatoes and zucchini are soft and lightly caramelized. Optional (but recommended): Place under the broil for 2-3 minutes to finish! Watch carefully during this step to avoid burning the crust.
  5. Serve warm or at room temperature.


CANNING SALSA
Thanks to Gretchen and Davis for sharing this recipe.
Saute to caramelize:
  • 6 cups chopped onions
  • 1/2 cup oil
Add:
  • 4 jalapeno peppers, minced
  • 12 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup cilantro, minced
Add:
  • 1 gallon red tomatoes, chopped
  • 4-6 cups green tomatoes or tomatillos, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons salt
  • 2 Tablespoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 cup cider vinegar
Cook over medium heat for 2-6 hours. You can also roast this in the oven.
Hot pack and boiling water bath for 15 minutes (add 5 minutes for each 1000' elevation). Makes about 10 pints.