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Here come the tomatoes


jgm

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dcarch - I agree that they are superb raw, but the ones I roasted above were at that leaky point - on the way out. I took the rest of the roasted ones and did a simple pasta with some added browned onion, a splash of balsamic, snipped garlic chives and basil, couple spoons of cottage cheese (no ricotta in the house), and a sprinkle of a shaved cheese blend from Trader Joes. I put it back on the heat to melt the cheeses after I took the shot. It was absolutely wonderful. If stepmom snags more of the over ripe romas at bridge this week I will roast them as well.

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Made Tomatoes Provencal today with 6 nice big beefsteaks from the reduced bin at the grocery store. Halved, seeded and sauteed for 45 minutes in oil, flipped, topped with salt, a bit of sugar, garlic, basil and chervil. Cooked for 45 minutes on the flip side, then the remaining liquids reduced to a syrup. Tucked away for future pasta topping.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have to confess, I'm just about sick of tomatoes! This was first time ever planting...anything...and I have 7 plants - a cherry that was done by the beginning of August, one "salsa hybrid", two brandywine pinks and three golden boys, all of which are still producing!

I've had innumerable tomato sandwiches, tomato salads, simple pasta with fresh tomtoes, and bruschetta, and I've stocked the freezer with red and gold tomato purées, a batch of golden gazpacho, and a batch of golden tomato salsa. The salsa came out too watery to use for chips and dip, but the flavor was good so I think I'll use it for cooking somehow. I've already made a batch of green tomato & jalapeño jam and I think I may make another batch in the next couple of weeks.

I think I'm going to try a tart like some one the ones shown above, maybe with the addition of ricotta and some sautéed leek. Will the leftovers potentially keep? Or should I plan on a personal-size serving? How to keep the tomatoes from being too liquid?

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I have to confess, I'm just about sick of tomatoes! This was first time ever planting...anything...and I have 7 plants - a cherry that was done by the beginning of August, one "salsa hybrid", two brandywine pinks and three golden boys, all of which are still producing!

I've had innumerable tomato sandwiches, tomato salads, simple pasta with fresh tomtoes, and bruschetta, and I've stocked the freezer with red and gold tomato purées, a batch of golden gazpacho, and a batch of golden tomato salsa. The salsa came out too watery to use for chips and dip, but the flavor was good so I think I'll use it for cooking somehow. I've already made a batch of green tomato & jalapeño jam and I think I may make another batch in the next couple of weeks.

I think I'm going to try a tart like some one the ones shown above, maybe with the addition of ricotta and some sautéed leek. Will the leftovers potentially keep? Or should I plan on a personal-size serving? How to keep the tomatoes from being too liquid?

In the past when I've had too watery a salsa - I put it in a strainer, reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency and add it back to the strained chunks.

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I have to confess, I'm just about sick of tomatoes! This was first time ever planting...anything...and I have 7 plants - a cherry that was done by the beginning of August, one "salsa hybrid", two brandywine pinks and three golden boys, all of which are still producing!

I've had innumerable tomato sandwiches, tomato salads, simple pasta with fresh tomtoes, and bruschetta, and I've stocked the freezer with red and gold tomato purées, a batch of golden gazpacho, and a batch of golden tomato salsa. The salsa came out too watery to use for chips and dip, but the flavor was good so I think I'll use it for cooking somehow. I've already made a batch of green tomato & jalapeño jam and I think I may make another batch in the next couple of weeks.

I think I'm going to try a tart like some one the ones shown above, maybe with the addition of ricotta and some sautéed leek. Will the leftovers potentially keep? Or should I plan on a personal-size serving? How to keep the tomatoes from being too liquid?

In the past when I've had too watery a salsa - I put it in a strainer, reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency and add it back to the strained chunks.

Kerry, I may try that. I have already pureed it to a really fine consistency though, but I think it would work well mixed into rice, maybe with some poached chicken, sprinkle some cheese on top and bake? Not fancy, but a nice hearty winter meal.

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In the past when I've had too watery a salsa - I put it in a strainer, reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency and add it back to the strained chunks.

I do the same. Or if I'm in a hurry and don't have time to reduce, I'll just save the strained tomato water and serve later as 'spicy gazpacho' opening in a chilled shot glass with a cilantro leaf or lime zest. Works surprisingly well O:-)
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Here's yet another way to use up tomatoes. Although they don't look large these tarts use up quite a lot of tomatoes.

Here is my recipe for Tomato Tarte Tatin.

This recipe works really well with lots of cherry tomatoes since you don't have to do anything with them except put them in the pan.

Here, however, I've used plum tomatoes because that's what a friend (?) gave me.

You need:

About 11/2 -3 lbs of tomatoes (Depends up on the diameter of your frying pan.)

5 tablespoons of powdered sugar

3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

50 grams of parmesan shavings

30 grams of unsalted butter

1 sheet of puff pastry

in basket-001.jpg

Here's the basket with about the right amount of tomatoes for one Tarte.

ready to cut.jpg

cut-001.jpg

cut & seeded-001.jpg

IMG_20130919_094318-001.jpg

Having cut each tomato in half then pushed out the seeds & pulp they're ready to cook.

First make a syrup using the butter, vinegar and half the powdered sugar. Let this mixture cook for a minute or two until its a thick consistency.

syrup-001.jpg

Now (carefully) add the tomatoes cut side down.

cooking-001.jpg

Sprinkle the remaining powdered sugar over the top, add the parmesan shavings spread evenly and cook for roughly 5 minutes. Let cool a bit then;

Cover the tomatoes with the sheet of pastry carefully tucking it in around the side.

Place in a 200 degree C oven and cook until the pastry is browned on top.

Take the tarte out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes.

Now comes the moment of truth. Place a flat plate over the top of the tarte and quickly invert the whole thing. With any luck the tarte will fall onto the plate.

finished-001.jpg

Ready to eat either hot or cold. These freeze well so I made 3 today and managed to use up roughly 5 pounds of tomatoes in the process.

Edited by Dave Hatfield (log)
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Dave, that looks great! I actually bought puff pastry a couple of days ago and did the leek & tomato tart I was eyeing, as well as a small apple tart tatin. I have one sheet leftover, and I may have to save it for this!

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Spare a thought for we hemispherically-challenged Southerners. This is as good as our tomatoes get at this time of year, but we're looking forward to January/February:

Toms.jpg

These little beauties will be enormous, ugly, delicious Spanish Montserrats when they grow up. Wonderful things. In the meantime we're keeping them warm and happy in the lounge.

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Leslie Craven, aka "lesliec"
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  • 10 months later...

Tomato gardener friends are supplying me this year. Will be doing the fresh uncooked sauce discussed on page 1 today http://forums.egullet.org/topic/134302-here-come-the-tomatoes/#entry1683853  Of course lots of tomato sandwiches have been enjoyed both with and without charcuterie. 

 

photo 1.JPG

 

 

 

 

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Tomatoes.  In my case, Mountain Magic...third year in a row.  Lunch was a plate of tomatoes with mayonnaise.

 

Not to mention basil, which made for last night's dinner.

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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No tomatoes yet, but  I can see fruits on it.  There is only 2 in the village who has gotten tomatoes yet, after the hailstorm, the tomato plants had to regrow 

Cheese is you friend, Cheese will take care of you, Cheese will never betray you, But blue mold will kill me.

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We grew, and are growing, gypsy and Jimmy Nardello peppers, four types of tomatoes, basil, leeks, kale, chard, beets, rosemary, Italian parsley, zucchini, chives, Toots has a couple of beans, but I can't recall what - oh, yeah, some favas and something else, strawberries, arugula, butter lettuce, and I think we have some potatoes in the garden at the big house - oh, we have a small fig tree up there as well, and persimmons too.  I may be missing something ...

 

ETA: Yes, up north we have apricots, plums, apples, and Eureka lemons.  They are not on our property but we do spend some time taking care of the trees.  Toots made some great plum and apricot jam this year.  And I have enough lemons in the fridge for a few more batches of curd and lemon pudding and lemonade.  The apples aren't ready just yet ...

Edited by Shel_B (log)

 ... Shel


 

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No tomatoes yet, but  I can see fruits on it.  There is only 2 in the village who has gotten tomatoes yet, after the hailstorm, the tomato plants had to regrow 

 

So far this summer it has been too cool here for a really good tomato crop, but fortunately no hail.  However Mountain Magic is resistant to both late and early blight, and it has always come through for me.

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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What gorgeous tomatoes! Sadly, I seem unable to successfully grow tomatoes. I have only a small garden because that's all I will take care of properly. Once it hits 90F I am not interested in being outside. The only vegetable I routinely grow is kale. Most of my garden space is dedicated to herbs and garlic. The following seeds are or will be available, send me a PM if you would like some mailed: garlic chives, epazote, basil, flat-leaf parsley, and cilantro/coriander. 

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Thank you everyone!

 

There are so many wonderful recipes for tomatoes, but even just plain old salad is exciting. 

 

Sad thing is, in another couple of months tomato season will be over. I will never buy store tomatoes.

 

dcarch

Edited by dcarch (log)
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I can't say "I'll never buy store tomatoes" but I certainly appreciate the difference, and love the times when the fresh ones comes out.  What variety are those multicolored tomatoes?  They'd be beautiful even without the benefit of your plating and photography.

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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