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3 recipes to help you relish tomato season
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When my daughters were very young, one of their favorite books was "Voyage to the Bunny Planet" by Rosemary Wells. It’s a collection of three books telling the story of Claire, who is having a very bad day. In "First Tomato," my kids' absolute favorite, Claire’s mother asks her to go out to the garden and pick some runner beans, sugar snap peas and a ripe tomato.
“A ruby red tomato is hanging on the vine. If my mother didn’t want it, the tomato would be mine. It smells of rain and steamy earth and hot June sun. In the whole tomato garden, it’s the only ripe one. I close my eyes and breathe in its fat, red smell. I wish that I could eat it now and never, never tell.”
I think this is one of the great descriptions of the longing every gardener, cook and tomato lover has for a taste of that first ripe tomato. It’s always my best moment of the garden season.
I’ve been growing tomatoes and cooking with them for decades, but the thrill of tomato season never grows old. I roast tomatoes to make sauce. I make tomato salads, soups and stews. I eat fried tomatoes for breakfast, tomato sandwiches for lunch, put them in tarts and pasta and serve them with fish and chicken for dinner. Tomato season is short so I never hesitate to dig in three times a day.
Here are three new recipes to try this year. A quick, delicious Spanish-style cold soup that is perfectly refreshing on these dog days of August. Then a Greek-style salad of tomato slices, cucumbers, peppers, feta cheese, anchovies (if you like) and croutons. And finally a fabulous recipe for fried tomatoes that can be served for breakfast with a fried egg, for lunch on a sandwich with bacon and lettuce, or as part of a dinner salad with crusty bread.
A tomato tip or two:
- One tip for ripening tomatoes: Store them in a shady spot stem side down, with the rounded part up towards the ceiling.
- If you have a surplus of tomatoes and especially cherry tomatoes, slow roast them in a roasting pan with a good glug of olive oil (and garlic and herbs if you like) and roast them at 250 degrees for about an hour. The sweetness that results from slow roasting is remarkable. You can then keep them in the refrigerator covered with a thin layer of olive oil for about a week and use for sauces, salads, soups, etc.
Spanish-style cold tomato soup with toppings
You’ve heard of gazpacho, the classic Spanish tomato soup with peppers, cucumbers and other vegetables. Well, salmorejo, which comes from the Andalusia region of Spain, is its simpler cousin.
Mindy Fox, food publicist and former food journalist, recently posted a picture of her version of salmorejo on Instagram and I knew immediately I wanted to make my own. As soon as my garden tomatoes ripened I got to work. My version uses tomatoes that are peeled, cored, and chopped and then mixed with garlic, vinegar, olive oil, a chunk of old stale crusty bread and whirled in a blender or food processor. That’s it. The magic comes from the ripeness and juiciness of August tomatoes and the various toppings you adorn the gorgeous cold red soup with: chopped hard-boiled egg, strips of salty prosciutto or jamon, scallions, chives, olive oil, cucumber. The soup can be made a day ahead of time — in fact, it’s best that way.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
The soup:
- 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled and cored and chopped*
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 cup stale baguette or crusty bread, cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon wine or sherry vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- The Toppings (serve any or all)
- Finely chopped hard-boiled egg
- A few thin strips of prosciutto or Spanish jamon
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely minced
- Olive oil or lemon olive oil
- Dash of sherry or wine vinegar
*To peel the tomatoes: If they’re very ripe you can work over a bowl and use your hands to gently remove the peel. If the peel doesn’t come off easily, boil a pot of water and have a bowl of ice-cold water ready. Carefully drop the tomatoes in the boiling water for 1 minute and immediately remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl of ice water. The peel should slide right off with your fingers.
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the chopped peeled tomatoes, garlic, bread, olive oil, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper. Transfer to a food processor or blender and pulse the mixture until smooth. Taste for seasoning adding more vinegar, salt or pepper. Chill for at least two hours or overnight.
- Prepare the toppings. Serve the cold soup with any or all of the toppings.
Greek-style tomato salad
Imagine a tomato salad and a Greek salad merging and you'll have a sense of the beauty of this refreshing summer salad. Thin slices of tomatoes line the platter (look for yellow, green, orange and red tomatoes for color and flavor contrast) topped with crunchy cubes of bread fried in olive oil, cucumber, sweet green pepper, creamy feta cheese, salty umami-filled anchovies (optional) and fresh basil leaves. An easy basil vinaigrette tops the salad. You can serve this for lunch or a light supper.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Croutons:
- ¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
- 2 cups crusty bread, cut into ½ to 1-inch cubes
The salad:
- 3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, red, yellow, green and/or orange
- 1 cup peeled cucumber, cut into ½-inch size cubes
- 1 cup creamy feta cheese, cut into ½-inch size cubes
- ½ cup (1 small) green pepper, cut into ½-inch size cubes
- 6 filets of anchovies, optional
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish
The vinaigrette:
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, thinly sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons wine vinegar, red or white
- 1 teaspoon anchovy oil, optional
Instructions
- Make the croutons: In a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is just hot add the bread cubes and cook for about 2 minutes. Carefully flip over and cook for another 2 minutes until the bread is golden brown and looks crisp along the edges. Remove and drain on paper towels.
- Make the salad: On a large platter arrange two rows of tomatoes, alternating types and colors. Top with the cucumbers, feta and green peppers. Arrange the anchovy filets on top, if using. Scatter the fried bread on top or along the side of the platter. Place basil leaves in the center. Do not make the salad more than two hours ahead of time.
- Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl mix, all the ingredients and taste for seasoning.
- Serve the dressing on the side or spoon on top.
BLFT: Fried tomato, bacon and lettuce sandwich
There are several ways to serve these fried tomatoes and all of them will win you over. Ripe tomatoes are cut into thick slices, dipped in seasoned flour, then seasoned eggs and finally panko breadcrumbs. They are fried in olive or vegetable oil and served with lettuce, bacon, and a caper and lemon mayonnaise and bread. Think of this as a kind of deconstructed BLT. You can also make a traditional sandwich by layering the fried tomatoes on bread with bacon, lettuce and the seasoned mayonnaise or serve it as an open-faced sandwich. You can also just fry the tomatoes and serve them with the mayo.
Makes 3 sandwiches or one large salad.
Ingredients
The mayonnaise:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoons drained capers
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- Salt and pepper to taste
The fried tomatoes:
- About ¾ cup flour
- Salt and pepper
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 medium-large tomatoes, ripe, cut in slices a little less than ½-inch each
- Bacon, lettuce and bread
- 6 strips of bacon
- About 1 cup fresh lettuce leaves
- 6 slices bread
Instructions
- Make the mayonnaise: mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and taste for seasoning. The mayonnaise can be made several hours ahead of time; cover and refrigerate.
- Cook the bacon: in a large skillet cook the bacon until crisp on both sides, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels and cut each strip in half.
- Fry the tomatoes: place the flour on a plate and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place the panko in another bowl.
- Working with the tomatoes slices one at a time, dredge in the flour on both sides. Dip the tomato in the egg and then the panko making sure the breadcrumbs adhere to both sides.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the tomato slices a few at a time until crisp and golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes.
- Lightly toast the bread.
- To serve as a traditional sandwich: spread some of the mayonnaise on two slices of bread. Add some of the lettuce on top of one slice and top with 2 pieces of the bacon. Place the fried tomato slices on the other slice of bread. Cut in half. To serve as an open faced sandwich: spread mayonnaise on two slices of toast. Add some lettuce, bacon and then top each with fried tomato slices.
- To serve as a salad: mound the lettuce on one side of a serving platter. Arrange the bacon next to it. Place the fried tomatoes on the other side and serve the toast and mayonnaise alongside.
More favorite tomato recipes:
This segment aired on August 6, 2024.
