cherry tomatoes--HELP!

[LindaK]

I'm awash in cherry tomatoes, and can't use them fast enough. I have two cherry tomato plants in my community garden plot--a Sweet 100 and a Sungold, maybe best of all--and they seem especially productive this year. If you grow cherry tomatoes, you know what that means.

Giving away bags of them, of course. Keeping a bowl handy for snacking--done. Halved on top of sliced tomatoes, with or without mozzarella, basil, and evoo--done. Tonight for a side, I added a big handful of them, halved, at the last minute, to a saute of thickly julienned zucchini, topped with a chiffonade of mint and some crumbled feta. Wish I had a picture--it was beautiful as well as delicious.

So what do you do with yours?

[llc45]

Cut them in half and slow roast them at low temp for 6-8 hrs with evoo, basil, and garlic. We eat these on bageutte slices with or without basil/mozz, put them in salads, on pizzas, in sandwiches.

[merstar]

Use them in pasta dishes. Add halved tomatoes to sauteed garlic, mix just until heated through. Toss in pasta, goat cheese, basil, etc.

Use them in bruschetta recipes.

Stuff them with feta, goat cheese, or blue cheese...

Someone just posted a recipe on another forum for "Gingered Tomato Chutney" from Cuisine At Home, which calls for cherry tomatoes. Will PM the recipe to you if you're interested.

Edited September 5, 2007 by merstar (log)

[C. sapidus]

If you like Thai salads, make green papaya salad (som tam or som dtam).

[dockhl]

Toasted Shrimp and Tomato

makes 8 servings

3 cups croutons or bread crumbs

½ cup parsley (I use mixed herbs, esp basil and sage this time of year)

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons lemon zest

1 ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/3 cup olive oil

2 pounds large shrimp

lemon wedges (I actually prefer lime, although I keep the zest as lemon, less bitter)

1 pound grape tomatoes

Prep

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. It takes a few minutes to get there so you might as well get it going while you finish the prep.

Finely chop the herbs, garlic and lemon zest.

Peel and devein the shrimp. Cut the lemon wedges and you are ready to start.

How to Prepare at Home

Lightly oil a large baking pan. If you are using croutons, pulse them in a food processor and turn into breadcrumbs. Other wise just use your favorite commercial breadcrumbs.

Combine the “bread crumbs” parsley, garlic, lemon zest, pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Add 4 table spoons of olive oil or enough to moisten the crumbs.

Arrange the cleaned shrimp and tomatoes in the baking pan in a single layer. Spoon a little of the breadcrumb mixture on to each of the shrimp and tomatoes. Drizzle the tops with a little more of the olive oil.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp. The shrimp are done when they turn pink and the crumbs are lightly browned.

Serve with the lemon wedges.

(If you brine the shrimp first for 15 minutes, there is a better chance of getting the breadcrumbs crust without the shrimp overcooking.)

Edited September 5, 2007 by dockhl (log)

[Smithy]

Sautee them whole in a favorite chicken dish, until they're just warmed through and starting to get wrinkled. Oooh. What a compliment to, say, chicken stuffed with pesto and sauteed in that same pan. The tomatoes give off their juices, the lot gets poured over the chicken...man, that was on my list for tonight, except that I got home too late.

Lucky you, with your embarrassment of riches.

[heidih]

Great ideas above. The slow roast with olive oil and basil can also be frozen if not used up. If they are really really not being used up I just plop them in a bag and freeze. They don't clump cuz of the skin, and can be used in sauces and soups right from the freezer. If skin bothers you they usually wear it loosely after a drop in hot liquid even after freeze.

[annecros]

I've dehydrated a bunch this year. Stick them in the freezer, then add a handful to winter soups for a bit of summer. Gave some to my daughter, and she packed them in olive oil and stuck them in the fridge.

If you have a food mill or tomato press, you can process them like any other tomato for sauce, etc. as the mill will remove the seed and skin. Sungold sauce rocks!

[Anna N]

This is one of my favourite ways of using cherry tomatoes.

It's an Emeril recipe that I have made with and without the pasta. It always gets rave reviews.

[kellytree]

My stepdad roasts them and then sticks them in the freezer.

I make my kids eat them anytime they whine "I'm hunggrryyyyy, there is nothing to eat in this house"

[mrbigjas]

franci's recipe for puglian focaccia here.

[Khadija]

I started making ketchup by slow roasting cherry tomatoes, with a bit of garlic, salt, and balsamic vinegar. The first thing everyone said when they tasted it was: "it tastes like ketchup -- really good ketchup, but ketchup all the same." Now, I make it all the time. You could make a lot and store it in jars.

Edited September 5, 2007 by Khadija (log)

[Sony]

Cut them in half and slow roast them at low temp for 6-8 hrs with evoo, basil, and garlic.  We eat these on bageutte slices with or without basil/mozz, put them in salads, on pizzas, in sandwiches.

←

When you blend these up with a little chicken or vegetable stock (or milk) and slowly heat through- best roasted tomato (or cream of tomato) soup ever.....

[divalasvegas]

I love them on shish kebabs--chicken, lamb, swordfish--especially when they get hot and bursting with a nice char on the outside. I also have a made-up recipe where I blanch whole green beans, drain, dry and toss with halved cherry tomatoes, shallots, crumbled goat cheese, walnuts and pitted kalamata olives then dress with your basic red wine vinegar/olive oil/dijon mustard vinaigrette. I've never used walnut oil for this but I bet it would be great too.

[NimaCooks]

half them and toss them in fresh chunky guacamole (I believe avocados are also in season.) or toss them in with pasta as previously mentioned...

[kathlucky]

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Rosemary

Wash and throughly dry tomatoes. place in roasting pan large enough for tomatoes to have space between them about 2 inches more or less. add olive oil to coat tomatoes and pan. Top with chopped rosemary to taste (I like alot). Salt and pepper if desired. (I am on salt restriction and due not miss miss the salt in this recipe.)

Roast in oven at 350 F for one hour or till they start to carmelize.

Serve warm as a side dish, great for sandwich topping, blender for a sauce

My favorite is hot with French bread to sop up the juices, oil and carmalization.

I freeze this for sandwiches.

I use this recipe in the winter for my weekly tomatoe fix, grape tomatoes work best. In the summer they are in the oven whenever I have it on and I cook them at any temperature and just till they start to carmelize.

[Patapsco Mike]

I get enough from my bushes to make spaghetti sauce with nothing but cherry tomatoes- a mixture of tart and sweet yellow cherry tomatoes. I just cut each one in half and throw them all in the pot together with some home made ham stock (after browning my onions, peppers and carrots). I don't know why, but it always comes out even more tasty than with my regular heirlooms.

[lovebenton0]

cherry tomato vinaigrette

oh so simple, and as they say, better than the sum of its humble parts.

quarter cherry tomatoes.

pour balsamic vinegar over them, add warmish water to taste, so they are just a bit afloat.

let rest for at least an hour at room temp.

add evoo, salt and fresh ground mixed peppercorns to taste.

toss in minced garlic, chopped flat leaf parsley and chiffonade basil of your choice. (i especially like genoa basil with this.)

allow the vinaigrette to languish in the fridge at least a few hours before using to make a fabulous green/veg (or bread, or pasta) salad.

it's even better the next day, if you can wait that long. i make enough to enjoy it for about three days at once and by the third day it's just that much better.

and, of course, nothing wrong with throwing together a tasty pico de gallo with your cherry tomatoes too. just halve them and go.

[jgm]

If you have the patience, slice off the stem end and remove the pulp in the middle.

In a bowl, mix goat cheese and chopped basil, plus a little cream cheese if you want to cut down on the bite of the goat cheese. Put into a pastry bag, or into a ziploc bag and cut off one corner. Pipe the mixture into the tomatoes. Top with a drop of really good balsamic vinegar. Or if it's REALLY good balsamic, and you don't want to waste a single molecule, put a drop of the balsamic into the tomato before you pipe the cheese into it.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Many years ago I found a recipe for cherry tomatoes that is a splendid accompaniment to grilled meats, especially chicken--

a bunch of cherry tomatoes, whole

a dollop of good olive oil

a chunk of unsalted butter

lotsa minced garlic

some chopped basil

S & P

Toss the tomatoes into a baking dish with the olive oil, butter and garlic--swirl it all around to coat the tomatoes. Place in a hot oven (I seem to remember that it was 450) and roast until the tomatoes are soft and the skins are beginning to split. You can swirl the baking dish around once or twice if you want (should take about 10 minutes). Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper, scatter the basil over all, and devour.

Hmmm--I also have a lot of cherry tomatoes.

And I also like the idea of piping goat cheese into them--very nice for drinks with friends.

N.

[LindaK]

Amazing. It would never have occured to me to freeze them, or roast or make sauce with such little guys, much less use them in Thai food or on a kebab. Love all these ideas. For those of you who freeze them, would the frozen ones work in recipes such as the foccacia, or just in the cooked pasta sauces?

Merstar, I'd love the recipe for tomato chutney. I also love the ketchup idea, but have never made it before. Any required seasonings, besides vinegar?

Someone at my office today had a novel idea: skewer them on a toothpick, soak them briefly in vodka, then dip in the appropriate seasoning for an "edible Bloody Mary." Don't know if it would actually work, but fun to envision!

Tonight I warmed them and tossed with green beans and tarragon, to go with the roasted cod. They are tasty!

[Miraklegirl]

I've got the same 'problem'- too many cherry tomatoes. The other night I made this savory crisp with them:

Just lay them into a greased shallow pan (I used a quiche plate) in an even layer. Top with 1/2 c. panko that you've tossed with minced garlic, chopped parsley (or basil) and three tbl. evoo. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

[LindaK]

For those who have suggested stuffing them as appetizers, do you use any special tool? Mine are not that big, so not sure how you'd actually do it. Sounds delicious, though.

[baroness]

I just found this fresh tomato-based salad dressing at Farmgirl Fare's site:

Creamy Tomato Dressing

Her recipes, photographs, and general musings are a delight!

[annecros]

I've linked to this one before in another topic somewhere, but it is so nice and easy it is worth linking again:

Babbo's Bauvette with Sungold Tomatoes

Here's a chilled soup, and I do something very similar:

Chilled Sungold Soup