Lavenders_Blue Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I've seen a few mentions of home grown tomatoes on here. Mine have done well too, so I thought I'd share a couple of recipes I've done recently with some of the tomatoes. Neither are very groundbreaking or revolutionary, but they got a big thumbs up from hubby, so I thought worth sharing. The first recipe was a pasta recipe. I roasted some of the tomatoes in the oven with just a drizzle of olive oil, then made some mint pesto (I made it the same as basil pesto, but just substituted mint for basil). I made the pesto quite thick, as I then let it down with some of the juice from the roasted tomatoes, so it ended up almost like a sauce. Then I lightly cooked some sugar snap peas and chopped up some feta cheese. I then tossed the whole lot, including the roasted tomatoes through cooked spaghetti and topped off with a few (veggie) Parmesan shavings. It was a lovely, light supper dish. Last night I did a roasted tomato risotto. I roasted the tomatoes with olive oil and oregano then, when they were really squashy, strained off the juice. I sweated off an onion and clove of garlic, chucked in the rice, then poured the roasted tomato juice into the pan. When that was all absorbed I then gradually added veg stock. It would have been really nice with a glass of white wine sloshed in, but I didn't have any. When the rice was all ready to go, I added the roasted tomatoes, crumbled in some sheep's cheese and then served with a grating of veggie Parmesan. Yum yum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saronne Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Sounds delicious! I've not tried roasting tomatoes; I would imagine it concentrates the flavours in a way that simmering on a stove top just wouldn't do. Love the idea of different herb pesto. I've used a mixture of fresh herbs and I've also used different nuts; e.g. almonds or walnuts or cashews - also used pumpkin seeds (though this wasn't as nice as the nuts in my opinion). Back to tomatoes; I love tomatoes on toast with garlic rubbed on the toast first, then just fresh, uncooked sliced toms with sea-salt and freshly ground pepper...and maybe a few chilli flakes...and possibly some grate parmesan...and a glass of wine..or two.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Those dishes all sound delish Tomato risotto is one of my all time favourites - particularly when you pop in some of the glut of courgettes at the same time! Another recipe, which sounds a bit unlikely, but is really good for you is sardine and fresh tomato pasta. Basically you cook up some pasta and whilst that is happening you fry some sardines (or mackeral or any other fish of your fancy), then hoik them out and cut them into bite sized chunks. Chop a good handful or two of basil (or parsley), crush a couple of garlic cloves and chop a tomato per person into bite sized chunks. When the pasta is cooked and drained, you gently mix in the other ingredients, plus a little bit of salt, pepper and chili flakes if you like and a drizzle of olive oil. The tomato is warm, but still very fresh tasting, so its a bit lighter than dishes which cook the tomato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Lovely sounding recipes . When I make roast tomato soup (Delia) I skin the tomatoes, is it necessary to do this in these recipes? I have also grown sweet olive tomatoes which are far too fiddly to skin, as I have a real glut of these could I roast these whole? Or does anyone have any recipes specifically for using these? I'm eating so many every day straight off the vine that I keep giving myself acid indigestion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I think its down to personal choice, if I roast toms and then blitz them for a sauce I will take off any skins which come away easily, but mostly I just whizz everything up together. Similarly if I'm doing roast veggies and there are some toms in there I just leave them as they are with skins on (usually they are cut in half). However, I know some people really don't like to find bits of skin in their dinner I've never heard of olive tomatoes - I'm guessing they make a cherry tom look enormous If it was me I would just roast and eat whole....life's too short (or alternatively I'm to lazy!) I wonder what LB does for her recipes, but for my fishy one I leave the skin on as the tom would just disintegrate otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 I left the skins on the toms for my recipes too. That way they (kind of) kept their shape rather than disintegrating. I've made roasted tomato sauce in the past where I've rubbed the tomatoes through a sieve after roasting which leaves the skins behind. Sort of like roasted passata I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I usually either halve or quarter mine depending on size then roast and blitz with a hand blender which sorts out the skins, although I do have a couple of varieties this year which have very tough skins and even me with my need for dietary fibre would skin those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Sounds lovely L_B I gave up growing tomatoes at home long ago; they don't get enough care from me, and always end up with blight too. We have tons in the greenhouses at work though, and we're encouraged to take any excess home; Rosie came in with me last week and was paid to harvest the fruit and veg. She picked loads of red currants and the last of the raspberries, tomatoes (plum, regular and cherry) and aubergines. Most of them go to the Manor for processing and freezing, but we took some home and I've been making up passata for the freezer, and my Italian aubergine bake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Mmmm sounds lovely, may have to give that one a try, will have to buy the aubergines though, I only have one from my 4 plants and that is still only an inch long. I love aubergines, they are beautiful to look at and lend a lovely squidgy quality to dishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I didn't know that tip about dipping aubergines in egg to stop them absorbing the oil - very useful, thanks DM We normally grill them which is OK but you don't get that really nice melting quality I associate with things like moussaka, so I'm going to try your way next time. We make a very similar dish, but we call it Andrew's Aubergine Thing. A friend of ours once memorably made it for a houseful of very hungry people about 15 years ago. It took him an absolute age (not a natural in the kitchen) and eventually when it was served a) we were all drunk and b) we got miniscule portions because he hadn't made enough. Despite that we still love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 5, 2013 Author Share Posted September 5, 2013 DM, that dish is my absolute favourite thing to do with aubergines, I love it! I make my tomato sauce for it with a cinnamon stick - probably not authentic but really yummy. Are aubergines easy to grow in a greenhouse? I really like them and would love to have a go at growing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 No idea if they are easy or not, but they have loads at work, and they all look healthy. I have my eye on the butternut squash and am waiting for them to ripen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I have struggled to grow aubergines, they seem very susceptible to red spider mite, it has taken until now for my plants to look healthy, they are outside at the moment, unfortunately a snail nibbled my one and only baby aubergines last night Edited to say what I came here to say I made a yummy ratatouille today with loads of my tomatoes and large courgettes. It makes such a difference if you cook it slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 6, 2013 Author Share Posted September 6, 2013 I might have to rethink aubergines then as we seem to have millions of red spider mites. Perhaps I could just try one plant next year as an experiment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Yep, aubergines are NOT easy! We tried them last year, had 2 about the size of a regular tomato and hubby vowed never to do them again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Finally got around to roasting some of my sweet olive tomatoes, did them with courgettes and shallots in olive oil - they were absolutely delicious, my new favourite vegetable . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I've just done an experiment making tomato sauce. Some were roasted with S&P, and roast garlic, then whizzed and some fresh basil added. The rest were chopped and went into a saucepan of sweated down onion and garlic, with S&P and cooked for 30 mins or so, then fresh basil added. I thought I'd prefer the roasted variation, but I preferred the stove top one. It was fresher and more tomatoey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
