Tomatoes Go Beyond Salads — Summer Fest by Laura Loesch-Quintin in In Season, Recipes, August 1st, 2012
We’re teaming up with food and garden bloggers and our friends at HGTV Gardens to host Summer Fest 2012, a season-long garden party. In coming weeks, we’ll feature favorite garden-to-table recipes and tips to help you enjoy the bounty, whether you’re harvesting your own goodies or buying them fresh from the market. Today we’re exploring tomatoes.
Come August, tomatoes — heirloom, beefsteak, cherry and more — hit their peak. Plump and juicy, they scream summer with their sweet, slightly acidic flesh and bright hues. Perfect for summer salads, there’s arguably no combination more classic than a simple caprese brimming with ripe tomatoes, creamy mozzarella and fragrant basil. But, tomatoes’ versatility far surpasses the realm of summer salads. In fact, they’re fantastic in soups, pies, pastas and sides. Just give one (or more!) of these easy cooked tomato recipes a try.
If you plan on planting your very own tomato patch, be sure to check out HGTV Gardens for great tricks like mulching tomato plants heavily with hay or leaves, and tips like pulling off stem tops to prevent puncturing fruit when stacking. Before you get cooking, be sure to choose firm, noticeably fragrant and richly colored tomatoes that are free of blemishes. Store them at room temperature and use them within a few days.
Hosting a casual garden party? Pass around Rachael’s Roasted Tomato Bruschetta for a simple hors d’oeuvre. Ina’s Roasted Tomato Basil Soup and Roasted Tomato Caprese make for a sweet start to any meal. Food Network Magazine’s Heirloom Tomato Pie (pictured above) serves as a bright main that needs nothing more than a leafy green salad in accompaniment.
For summery sides, try Claire’s recipe for easy Roasted Grape Tomatoes, which calls for no more than five ingredients. Or, for a bit more sustenance, add potatoes to the mix to make Food Network Magazine’s Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes.
Liven up your weeknight pasta with fresh, succulent tomatoes — leave the canned version for those cold, off-season months. Use small cherry tomatoes for Anne’s Tagliatelle With Corn and Cherry Tomatoes and egg-shaped Roma tomatoes for Rachael’s Roasted Tomato Penne Alla Vodka. Either way, you’ll have a simple and satisfying meal for one or for many.
What’s your favorite tomato recipe? Share it with us in the comments below and visit Food Network’s Summer Fest board on Pinterest.
More tomato recipes from family and friends:
Cooking With Elise: Fresh Tomato Sauce
Jeanette’s Healthy Living: Tomato Gazpacho Salsa
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Tomato Cobbler Anyone?
Virtually Homemade: Spaghetti With Tomatoes, Prosciutto and Fresh Corn
What’s Gaby Cooking: Chicken Kebabs With Romesco Sauce
Big Girls, Small Kitchen: Salmon Spaghetti With Plum Tomatoes and Avocado
Feed Me Phoebe: Roasted Fresh Tomato Puttanesca Sauce
Chez Us: Easy Tomato Tart
Made By Michelle: Tomato and Pesto Pizza
Ingredients, Inc.: Lighter Fried Green Tomatoes
Delicious Lean: Creamy Light Tuna Salad Stuffed Tomatoes
Daily*Dishin: Spicy Tomato-Tomatillo Chicken Tenders
From My Corner of Saratoga: Tomato Jam
Dishin & Dishes: Tomato Zucchini Frittata
And Love It Too: Roasted Garlic, Basil and Tomato Paleo Tart
Healthy Eats: The Fresh-for-Once Tomato
Sweet Life Bake: Pico de Gallo
Zaika Zabardast: Grilled Tofu and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Sandwich
Thursday Night Dinner: Tomato and Watermelon Salad
Cooking Channel: How to Prepare Summer Tomatoes
-
More posts from Laura Loesch-Quintin.
Tags: summer, summer fest, tomatoes
What a gorgeous Tomato Pie – loving all these recipes and ideas for enjoying all the fresh tomatoes that are in season.
What a fabulous tomato spread of dishes! These are terrific. Thanks for sharing these ideas!
Love the tomato fest.. Here's one more dish for the Party.. http://dish-a-day-panfusine.blogspot.com/2012/07/…
Delicious tomato inspired pie and recipes :)
Hi!
Others have voiced my confusion above, but it’s pleasant sometimes to add into the melee. I have been signed up since the middle of January, but have three letters. They’re wonderful letters! But similarly, I’d like to know if this is just the process with the dust settling or if this is to be expected?
Thanks!
Hey There. I found your weblog the use of msn. That is a really neatly written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and return to learn extra of your helpful info. Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.
A lot of the things you articulate is astonishingly precise and it makes me wonder why I had not looked at this in this light before. This particular piece really did turn the light on for me as far as this specific issue goes. But at this time there is actually one factor I am not really too comfortable with so while I try to reconcile that with the actual main idea of your point, permit me observe exactly what all the rest of the visitors have to point out.Nicely done.
I like this post, enjoyed this one appreciate it for putting up.
Tyytyväinen asiakas on paras muoto edistäminen liiketoimintaa. Sinun tulisi myös usein kysellään tyytyväisyyttä omia tuotteita ja palveluja.
auto mechanic school
What has this food looks good, I like it a lot, thanks. I'll try!