The Best Fresh Tomato Recipes: What Are Yours?
Melissa Clark in the New York Times gives us seven reasons to buy too many tomatoes at the farmers' market this time of year, when the tomatoes are juicy, sweet, and irresistible. I have to say they all sound great, but the one I am trying first is the instant tomato-ricotta "soup" with capers. Like Clark, I have really big eyes when I buy gorgeous farmers' market tomatoes, so I end up with more tomatoes than I can possibly use.
Here are two delicious, easy ways to deal with fresh tomato excess.
Buy the best mozzarella you can find, and make a big platter of sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella slices, fresh basil leaves, drizzled good-quality olive oil, and the coup de grâce, some Malden sea salt.
Resurrecting the mozzarella is the key to making this dish work. Just about all the mozzarella found in the U.S. is refrigerated after it's made. Refrigeration causes mozzarella rigor mortis to set in, making the cheese dry, gummy, and rubbery. Don't despair, though. A mozzarella maker I know gave me foolproof instructions for reviving it. Gently poach the cold mozzarella in a bath of warm whole milk. It works every time.
Last weekend I bought some orange cherry tomatoes that were so sweet I'm sure some fancy-pants chef somewhere would use them in a dessert. I made a ridiculously easy pasta dish with them.
Cook some dried pasta for two minutes less than it says on the package, reserving a cup of the pasta water for the sauce. Put the cooked pasta in a big sauté pan, and add the pasta water. Toss in a cup of fresh mozzarella cubes, a half cup of fresh goat cheese, a tablespoon of capers, some grated Parmigiana-Reggiano (Romano cheese would also be a fine, a saltier alternative), and a cup of chopped arugula.
Cook on low heat for five minutes, long enough to reduce the pasta water by half. Just before serving, halve the cherry tomatoes and toss them into the pasta along with a little Malden sea salt.
Serve either dish with crusty bread or a baguette, and let the deliciousness begin.
How do you solve fresh tomato excess?
Photograph from Saital on Flickr
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27 Comments:
Caprese salad is one of my favorite ways to eat tomatoes, and the buffalo mozz at Fairway has been pretty good lately. Sliced tomatoes and sweet onion are delicious too.
I inhale those little sungolds so fast I've never had a chance to make an actual dish with them.
Cathy at 9:08AM on 08/22/07
I over-indulge, eating nothing but tomatoes for a week. When I can stand no more (yea, right!) I invite friends over for an annual tomato fest. Which always ends with tomato bloody marys.
I can't wait for next summer!
mattbites at 9:20AM on 08/22/07
this time of year when the tomatoes are so good i just eat them with a dash of a salt and drizzle of olive oil.
ceforrester at 9:22AM on 08/22/07
sliced, w/ fresh mozzarella, fresh basil from our garden, olive oil and sea salt, as you've described. i've been eating this for dinner recently!
also i enjoy them sliced with sea salt and nothing more.
j at 9:36AM on 08/22/07
I just had another fresh tomato "recipe" for breakfast: toasted bialy, good Amish cream cheese, two slices of tomato, a little sea salt. Open-faced breakfast sandwich heaven.
Ed Levine at 9:42AM on 08/22/07
I make a "salad" of halved sungold cherry tomatoes with goat cheese and chopped fresh parsley (and/or fresh basil). Otherwise, with the heirlooms, I tend to just eat them in slices alongside whatever meal I'm having; they're especially nice with hardboiled eggs for breakfast. But I love the "instant tomato-ricotta soup" recipe in this article, and that's what I'm going to have today!
producestories at 9:56AM on 08/22/07
Panzanella with tuna, from Patricia Wells' Trattoria Cb.
lemons at 10:07AM on 08/22/07
I have to agree that Caprese salad is probably the best way to use tomatoes, short of making Ultimate BLT's:
http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2006/08/05/the-most-honorable-way-to-eat-a-jersey-tomato/
http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/08/09/podcast-42-bacon-lettuce-and-tomatocast/
Also I really like the Thomas Keller Confit Byaldi recipe. While the combination with eggplant and zucchini is awesome, you could just confit the tomatoes straight without any other vegetables. They are awesome on BLTs, above.
I also made a great fritatta with tomatoes and leftover sausage yesterday for breakfast/brunch:
http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/sausage-fritatta-breakfast-of-champions/
http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/07/12/ratatouille-a-la-ratatouille/
jperlow at 10:11AM on 08/22/07
There's always delicious salsa: I love that mix of sweet/tart from the tomatoes, that bite from onions, the herby soapy green from cilantro and, of course, heat from chili (I use thai bird rather than jalapenos). Otherwise, I make a pasta similar to your recipe (except no goat cheese) with some more thai bird chili, or make a delicious batch of gazpacho.
lorelei76 at 10:14AM on 08/22/07
how long do you poach the cheese in the milk? is it actually over heat, or do you turn the heat off after you have gotten it to "warm" stage?
carriebwc at 10:24AM on 08/22/07
@ed, my favorite breakfast sandwich w/ tomato is a bagel (toasted) w/ cream cheese, tomato & bacon - so good!
j at 10:24AM on 08/22/07
Tomato sandwich -- bread, mayo, tomato and salt & pepper!
alynn at 10:31AM on 08/22/07
alynn beat me to it! Mmm...fresh tomato and Hellman's on white bread with a pinch of salt. I leave off the pepper. Too much extra flavor! I total tomato flavor dominance!
missbhavens at 11:07AM on 08/22/07
I put a half a cup of milk in a small sauce pan on low heat, warm that up, add the mozzarella ball, and then pour another half cup of milk into the pan. When the mozzarella is warm all the way through, it's ready to go. What you're doing is essentially rehydrating the mozzarella. The key is keeping the heat on low. You don't want to scald the milk.
Ed Levine at 11:22AM on 08/22/07
@alynn that sounds delicious! maybe i'll make that for lunch today. reading this thread all morning is making me hungry.
j at 11:32AM on 08/22/07
I'm all for caprese salads, and definitely for plain with some salt, but I also really REALLY like this tomato bread salad that was in Gourmet about 10 years ago:
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with a pinch salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups 3/4-inch cubes crusty bread
1/2 pound vine-ripened red tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch wedges
1/2 pound vine-ripened yellow tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch wedges
1/4 cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, washed well, spun dry, and chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram leaves, chopped fine
Make a dressing from the first three, combine with the rest, and let stand 15 minutes before serving. FANTASTIC.
klg19 at 1:40PM on 08/22/07
I dice tomatoes, throw them in a pan on a low simmer, and a couple of minutes later, gently stir an egg into the now chunky, soupy mess. Sprinkle in salt, pepper, Korean chili flakes, and whatever herbs strike your fancy, and you're ready to go =)
onedaylingers at 1:41PM on 08/22/07
My wife is Russian, so this is based on a Russian salad. I dice as many tomatoes as I want to use and place them in a bowl with an equal part of diced cucumber. I then place a dollop of sour cream in the bowl with salt and pepper and stir. Very simple and good.
Other additions I've tried in the salad:
a dash of balsamic
crumbled goat cheese
dried oregano
fresh basil
logicalmind at 2:29PM on 08/22/07
Tomato sandwiches on toasted challah with cheddar and lite Hellman's, maybe a leaf or two of basil.
emily20008 at 2:39PM on 08/22/07
Oh, and a riff on Israeli salad: diced tomatoes, Middle Eastern cucumbers, a little fresh dill, feta, olives, olive oil, lemon juice, za'atar, served with toasted pita (whole or in smallish chunks).
emily20008 at 2:40PM on 08/22/07
Baked tomatoes - slice the tomatoes in half and a tiny part of the bottoms, so that they stand up. Drizzle with olive oil, oregano, garlic, pepper, and breadcrumbs for a crunchy topping. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes and broil at the end for just a minute or so. Just wonderful!
Also, I cut them up into any pasta or veggie dish in small chunks. Tomatoes make any dish better.
bannisterb at 7:10PM on 08/22/07
I'm also wild for the Tuscan Bread Salad as an adult while nothing, absolutely nothing reminds me more of growing up and spending summers with my entire family at the cottage than slicing a huge Beef Steak Tomato onto a fresh, warm Kaiser Roll spread with mounds of cream cheese fresh from the creamery and topped with sea salt. I always thought of it as a private family ethnic recipe :)
drbehavior at 2:39AM on 08/23/07
I've been eating a lot of tomatoes recently, fresh and uncooked. I love them plain or with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And I also like to dice them, mix them with chopped basil leaves and add all that to a thick slice of warm toasted crunchy bread that's been brushed with olive oil.
I've also recently spotted interesting "tartare" style salads: diced tomatoes, raspberries and parmesan.
TOMATOES tomatoes sigh..
MariannaF at 3:57AM on 08/23/07
I dice a bunch of tomatoes with cucumbers, onions, green/yellow and red bell peppers, garlic, cilantro and yellow hot peppers, then top with avocado wedges and serve with an olive-oil-and-balsamic-vinegar dressing. Very cool and refreshing during these dog days of summer . . .
hatlady at 1:04PM on 08/23/07
The tomato sandwich gets my vote. I'm living a half block away from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor Michigan, so I buy a loaf of their farm bread, some tomatoes from the farmer's market across the street. I toast the bread, add some mayo or goat cheese, slice the warm tomatoes and put it all together. The other way I love tomatoes (other than all of the great ideas above) is in gazpacho - my husband lived in Barcelona for a long time, so his is really good.
ceres at 8:59PM on 08/23/07
Small tomatoes I confit in olive oil with a ridiculous amount of garlic (in its skin, and then extract the cloves and squeeze out to taste) - this is the basis for numerous pasta sauces - add pepper, chili, cheese, anchovies, crab, greens, or nothing.
Big ones I slice thinly, salt, lots of pepper, and at the last second some strong vinegar (even industrial chip shop malt vinegar works fine - it was what my Nan used to use in Mamnchester in the 1930's) and sandwich on brown bread.
godstar at 4:24AM on 08/24/07
For the tomato sandwich, try leaving the tomatoes in the window to warm. They're way better that way. Also, you can pat sliced tomatoes with a paper towel to keep the bread from getting soggy.
BammerSlammer at 3:40PM on 08/27/07