Need some ideas for using all these fresh tomatoes.

[Perry]

We're having a great harvest. I'm freezing them and making sauce, but would like some new ideas for using fresh tomatoes.

 

We've been eating lots of salads and BLTs. What are some of your favorites?

[Rosie_0801]

Virtually anything you use tinned tomatoes for will taste better with fresh tomatoes instead.

 

Rosie

[dirty ethel rackham]

Cucumber, onion and tomato salad with a vinaigrette dressing.

 

Onion, Tomato, mozzerella cheese slices with fresh basil and oil and vinegar drizzled over them.

 

Hubby will cut up the ones that are about to go bad and just saute them up with some zucchini, onion, garlic, mushrooms and peppers. Put a little salt, pepper and oregano on it and you're good to go. I like to put this on my baked potato instead of butter.

[Caitilin]

quasi-bruschetta:

 

Layer baguette with basil leaf, tomato, fresh (if poss.) mozzarella. Broil till cheese is nicely melted. Scrummy!

[stripe]

Good for you! I've gotten 4 tomatoes so far, and I have four plants! Luckily, I have a bunch of green ones that may ripen soon.

[HRAAB]

Fresh tomato sauce w/pasta

Spanish rice

Any kind of salad

Add to any sandwich

Top your pizza w/fresh tomatoes after you bake

Serve fresh with scrambled eggs, spinach and feta cheese

Soup

A plate of fresh sliced tomatoes at dinner

 

We're in tomato season, too. Right now I have a big pot of tomato sauce o the stove.

[LibraryLover]

Also, stuffed tomatoes....not exactly fantastic to do a sweltering day, although it works fine on the grill. We recently did one with herbed and peppered goat cheese. Put some panko or whole wheat bread crumbs on top and dab with a little oilive oil to brown. Bake/roast about 15-20 min.

 

I also like to do a light pasta sauce with chopped up tomatoes, onions, garlic, maybe a drizzle of balsamic vinegar if you like it sweet, skip if you don't. It's not a thick sauce, but the lovely freshness of summer tomatoes can't be beat.

Edited September 2, 2010 by LibraryLover

[PineFarmMom]

Oven roasted tomatoes. So so so good!! I think I took my smaller tomatoes and quartered them, then tossed them in olive oil and added kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet and cook them at 200 for a couple of hours, then up the temp to 250 and cook a while longer. They are ridiculous. We actually just ate a whole pan of them right out of the oven. The better choice is to bag them and freeze them and then add them to sauces as you need them. ;)

 

It was this summer when I did them last, so you might google oven roasted tomatoes to double-check me on that. There are many things you can do with them!!

[jkwynn]

Salsa! Yum...

[Tina]

Fresh salsa! My gang would eat a lot of this, but my tomatoes are still green, too.

 

Have you considered canning them? Then you've got them for chili or vegetable soup or whatever this winter.

 

A great sandwich with fresh tomatoes: on one slice of bread mayo. On the other, peanut butter, sliced tomatoes and lettuce. Top with the first slice. Very good!

[joni470]

I cut thin slices and place them on quiche.

 

I like the idea of making tomato soup and freezing it. I do not care for tomato soup but it is a great base for other soups.

 

Also, make salsa and give it as gifts throughout the year.

 

-Savannah

http://www.hammocktracks.com

[Luckymama]

I second the roasted tomatoes, but I actually cook them higher (400?) like I would any other roasted vegetable, for 20-40 minutes (depending on the tomato). Soooo good! Even better when taken from the freezer in the dead of winter :)

[helena]

When I have tons of tomatoes I make chilaquiles, or tortilla soup. Sometimes I do a cold angel hair pasta with tomato, basil and olive oil.

[OnTheBrink]

Tomato pie! My dd loves this! You can do one with a regular pie crust (which gets soggy) or do one with diced hash browns instead of the pie crust. We like that one better.

 

If you prefer the hash brown "crust", line the bottom of an 8x8 pyrex dish with the diced hash browns. Add a layer of diced, sweet onions. Then top with sliced tomatoes (about 6 or 7 of them). Mix about a cup of mayo with about a cup of mozzarella. Spread over the tomatoes then sprinkle parmesan on top. Bake for about half an hour at 350, until the topping is bubbling and browning.

[mhg]

I freeze tomatoes whole in freezer bags then take them out when I make soup. Could dehydrate them (sun or dehydrator) and use to make sun-dried tomato breads/put in pizza dough crust, etc. Lucky you!

[VBoulden]

I am learning to preserve mine.

 

http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/08/pictured-above-are-results-of-my-first.html

 

I had to use one of the jars already (because the top buckled and might not be safe to store... I could not believe how good they smelled when I opened the jar and how much better my spaghetti sauce tasted using them.

 

They LOOK like canned junk, right? But the difference between these and the ones I buy in the store is impossible to communicate. :001_smile:

 

Also, Everyday Food magazine has a "tomato section" in this month's edition. (You can often find this little magazine in the checkout line at the grocery store). It's one of my favorite mags for many reasons, but one cool thing they do is follow the seasons and give you recipes for what you may have a lot of at that time of year.

 

I haven't tried any of the recipes in there yet, but I may have hold some fresh tomatoes aside and not can them so I can do that. :D

Edited September 2, 2010 by VBoulden

[Ali in OR]

Angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce--goes something like this:

 

Chop up some tomatoes (6-8 Roma size?); place in large bowl.

Add some minced garlic (2-3 cloves??)

And fresh chopped basil (handful)

A little sea salt and ground pepper to taste

8 oz grated mozzerella

About 1/4 cup olive oil.

 

Let this mixture sit on your counter for a couple of hours. Then cook up some angel hair pasta and toss it in! You can only eat this dish 1-2 months a year when you have the fresh 'maters.

[joni470]

After posting yesterday with some tomato ideas I found this recipe this morning. Yum...I wish I had a few extra tomatoes. I use chili sauce in chicken and shrimp marinades.

 

HOMEMADE CHILI SAUCE

20 lg. tomatoes (about 9 1/2 lbs.)

6 lg. onions, chopped

3 or 4 green peppers, chopped

1 or 2 sm. peppers, unseeded

4 1/2 c. sugar

4 c. vinegar (5% acidity)

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

Cut up and mix all together and boil slowly until it thickens (3 1/2 hours). Put in hot jars and seal.

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

-Savannah

http://www.hammocktracks.com

[Firefly]

Panzanella is one of my favorite ways to use up fresh tomatoes.

 

I also will get some of those "Boboli" crusts and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, add sliced tomatoes on top, then mince some garlic on top of that. Bake it in the oven @400 until the cheese is bubby and the crust is crispy.

 

Salads, salsa, grilled panini, and just plain, sliced with some fresh basil and drizzled with olive oil are all great too. HTH

[beaglemamma]

I just posted my homemade salsa recipe on my blog the other day. It's quick, easy, and can be frozen! (I just froze 12 cups of it!!) Here's the link.

 

http://trainingthemup.blogspot.com/2010/08/lets-salsa.html

 

Whatever you choose to do, I hope you enjoy them! There's nothing like a fresh tomato! :001_smile:

[brijen97]

WE found an idea for a yummy sandwich: pumpernikle(I'm spelling that totally wrong...I'm sorry!) bread; provolone cheese; mushrooms and sliced tomato with pesto. Then you grill it for a fancy grilled cheese....yum. WE keep getting tomatoes from the farmer's market to make them.

[Carol in Cal.]

Tomato salad: Take lots of fresh tomatoes. Wash them and cut off the stem ends. Quarter the medium ones. Eighth (if it's not a word, it should be) the big huge ones. Put them into a big salad bowl. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over them. Then drizzle about twice as much extra virgin olive oil on them. Toss and serve. They will disappear. You can easily use up 3-4 tomatoes per person that way, and it works for lunch as well as dinner.

 

For a really good light meal, do the same thing I just said but then add some kalamata olives and lots of chunks of feta or mozzerella cheese. Maybe a little chopped basil as well--chiffonade it very finely and be sure to distribute it well as it's strong. Oh my goodness, this is so good. And with bread alongside (good hearty round bread), it's a meal. The bread can be dipped into the salad--the vinegar, oil, and tomato juice make a great bread dip. Or you can fall back on good old butter. Yum!

[kewb]

Pico de Gallo

 

Chop tomatoes, chop onion, chopped cilantro, chopped chili pepper, chopped red peppers, chopped what ever you like, drizzle with juice of one line and sprinkle with sea salt. Let sit for at least 2 hours. So yummy.

[MomsintheGarden]

I have canned salsa to give as Christmas and hostess gifts. Folks really love this! I have also canned tomato/onion chutney and stewed tomatoes.

 

 

 

 

Salsa

 

 

 

 

Makes 12-14 pints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40 Roma tomatoes & 20 regular tomatoes

or

40-50 regular tomatoes (all average size)

 

12 oz tomato paste

2 cups white vinegar

2 Tbsp. Brown sugar

1-3 tsp. Cumin (we use 2 tsp.)

3 onions, chopped

3 Tbsp. oregano

5 garlic cloves, chopped

3 Tbsp. Lime juice – fresh or bottled

9 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped (use rubber gloves)

1/8 cup salt (add up to 1/8 cup more after tasting, if it’s not salty enough) If it’s too salty, add ¼ c. peeled potatoes. It is best to not add too much salt to begin with.

 

 

Peel tomatoes with boiling water method. Chop tomatoes into about 1†pieces (they will cook down) and mix with all other ingredients in a large pot. This mixture may also be pureed in a food processor or blender if a smoother, less chunky texture is desired. Simmer 1 ½ hours uncovered, skimming off the foam.

 

This recipe is best if canned in ½ pint or pint jars. Fill the jars, leaving ¼†head space. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

 

When you first start cooking the salsa it will taste very hot because of the fresh jalapenos. After cooking it will become milder. It will mellow even more while sitting on the shelf in the sealed jars.

 

Two times the recipe just fits into our 16 quart pot. One time when we made this, we filled the pot full, then the ingredients expanded while simmering, so we had to remove about 4 cups of it before it cooked down.

 

Note: I wash my jars in the dishwasher, then sterilize them by putting them in a cold oven on a baking sheet until the oven preheats to 250 degrees. They can stay there until they are needed. The lids and rings are washed and brought to a simmer in a saucepan before using.

 

 

We've been making this salsa for over 15 years. We love it!

 

GardenMom