You Say Tomato, I Say Delish!
I love tomatoes! Raw, roasted, grilled, sauteed, sliced, diced, chopped, pureed, seeded or skinned (or not), red, green, yellow, purple, vine ripened, heirloom, you name it! I love them most right now, at the end of Summer. Each week, I go to the farmer’s market and choose a variety of tomatoes that were most likely still ripening on the vine the day before. They are complete in their perfection.
Technically a fruit, we often think of tomatoes as a vegetable, especially with our pairings to protein – steak and roasted tomatoes = delish! Steak and roasted cantaloupe = not so much.
Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A, C and E, as well as potassium and calcium for healthy bones and teeth. Most importantly, tomatoes are loaded with lycopene – a vital anti-oxidant that lowers cholesterol and helps guard against heart disease and cancer. So make some tomato soup or sauce today, because our bodies can use the lycopene in cooked tomatoes more easily.
I asked my friend, Gavan Murphy, to share his favorite tomato recipes (see below) – and they look delish!!
Start with these and visit his website often for new favorite recipes.
Combine the following ingredients in a blender:
Juice of 1 Lemon
Juice of 1/2 Lime
2 tbsp. Olive oil
3 big shakes of Tabasco sauce (or some other hot pepper sauce)
1 teaspoon of Cumin
3-4 big shakes of Red Wine Vinegar
3 dashes of Salt
6 dashes of Pepper
1 tbsp. of Minced Garlic
2 big whole Tomatoes cut up
1/2 of an old Baguette (if you don’t have this, bread crumbs work, or just skip it)
1 1/2 tablespoons of Honey
1-2 cans of Tomato Juice
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro (optional – sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t)
BLEND!
Then dice the following and throw them into the bowl you serve it in:
1 Cucumber
1/2 (or less) Red Onion
Mix well and that’s all there is to it.
ENJOY!!
RECIPE: Serves 6
6 large beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes
6 whole organic eggs
6 egg whites
1 tbsp fresh thyme
Sprinkle of feta cheese
Chives, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
Begin by cutting the top from each tomato, about a quarter of the tomato. With a pairing knife, cut around the inner flesh of the tomato and using a spoon scoop out the seeds. Make sure you don’t scoop too much from the bottom or the egg mixture will seep out. Season each tomato with S&P and a drizzle of olive oil. Crack one egg white in each tomato cup. Sprinkle a little feta cheese and fresh thyme in each. Follow that by adding a whole egg in each tomato. Place carefully on a foiled oven tray and pop in oven for approx. 25 minutes or until eggs are cooked.
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Cilantro Pesto Beans
RECIPE:
3 lbs heirloom tomatoes – make the trip to your Farmers’ Market–it will be worth it for these!
1 lb French beans – trimmed
Cilantro Pesto: Makes 2 cups (extra for another time)
2 bunches cilantro – packed
2 cups baby spinach – packed
?1 lemon – zested
1/2 lemon – juiced
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts – toast in a dry heated saute pan for 3-4 minutes stirring periodically until browned
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (low fat preferably)
1 1/2 cups olive oil
S&P to taste
Add all pesto ingredients in a food processor, except for olive oil.
Blend and while blitzing gradually pour in olive oil.
Season with ¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper.
Blanch the beans in a pot of boiling salted water for 30 seconds until bright green color.
Drain and refresh in bowl of ice water until completely chilled, Drain.
To assemble salad: Lay slices of the heirlooms around platter.
Toss the french beans in enough pesto to coat and lay in middle of platter.
Drizzle a little pesto over each tomato and season with S&P to taste. That’s it!
Don’t be afraid to try all the colors of heirloom tomatoes. Ask your local vendor which ones will be the best and tuck in!
Homemade Tomato Ketchup(s)
Each variety make approx. 1 cup depending on the size of your tomatoes.
The base of each ketchup is all the same as follows.
Make 1 or all of them. Follow the same base procedure’s and then spice ‘em up!
KETCHUP BASE RECIPE:
4 medium organic, farmers market tomatoes (peeled, rough chopped) Directions below.
1 garlic clove – crushed
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 cup white onion – fine dice
1 tbsp Sundried tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
DIRECTIONS PEELING TOMATOES:
Boil a large pot of water.
As water is heating, with a small pairing knife remove the core of each tomato.
On the opposite end of the tomato, using the knife cut a shallow criss cross.
Get a large mixing bowl and fill with iced water.
Once water is boiling gently place the tomatoes in the water for 30 seconds.
Using a slotted spoon place each tomato into the iced water to chill. The skins should remove very easily. Drain peeled tomatoes in colander and proceed as directed.
#1. REGULAR KETCHUP:
Base recipe
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
?1 tbsp agave
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
#2. CHIPOTLE KETCHUP:
Base recipe
1 tsp chipotle pepper – chopped
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp saffron
?2 tsp agave
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
#3. GINGER SPICED KETCHUP:
Base recipe
2 tsp fresh ginger – grated
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp agave
1/4 cup rice vinegar
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat a medium saucepan on medium low heat. Add olive oil. Saute diced onion, garlic and mustard for 6 minutes or until soft. Stir occasionally. Do not colour.
NOTE: Depending on which variety you’re making follow the above step and add which ever spice recipe you prefer. If I were you I’d make all three!
Add chopped tomatoes, paste and spices. Stir.
Cook, partially covered, for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. The tomatoes will break down as you stir.
Add agave and vinegar and continue to cook for additional 10 minutes.
Once tomatoes have broken down pop them in the food processor and puree.
I prefer the more rustic look of my ketchup but if you want a smoother texture use an immersion blender (that hand-held doodah).
Let cool to room temperature before covering and popping in the fridge.
