August 6, 2003

Seven Wonderful Ways to Use Garden Tomatoes

When my garden is rampant with tomatoes, I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This year, the garden is practically bare due to the rainy spring and a family of groundhogs that live under the shed. There are a few tomato plants within a cage, but I suspect that ole mama groundhog can reach right through. Last year, she would eat a bite or two out of each tomato as it was starting to ripen, so we had to pick them early to get any at all.

Perhaps you peel tomatoes, and/or add pepper, but I simply slice, salt and eat. Over the years I have developed many other tomato favorites, so many that I have trouble deciding which one to make first.

As a general rule, before proceeding with a tomato recipe you may peel by rolling a tomato around a pan of boiling water for a few seconds, then placing it in ice water for a minute or two. Peel, cut in half and gently squeeze out the seeds. If necessary in the following ideas/recipes, I will abbreviate this step as “peel and squeeze”.

Number 8 in this list might be homemade salsa, but you know how to do that.

#1 Open-faced Tomato-Cheese Sandwich on Toast

For breakfast or lunch:
Cut a 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slice of tomato (or several small slices, enough to cover your bread), salt and place on paper towel to drain. Lightly toast a thick slice of good quality bread. (The artisan bakery where I used to shop had a Potato-Dill bread that was perfect.) Butter toast if desired. Place the tomato on the toast and cover with slices of your favorite melting cheese. Fontina , Edam and Gouda are all wonderful. You might use Monterey Jack or Muenster in a pinch, or prefer a sharp Cheddar. Run under the broiler until cheese is melted.

#2 BLT of the Gods

For lunch or a light meal:
The absolute best BLT is made with a thick slice of Beefsteak tomato large enough to cover the entire slice of bread, so that little pieces of sliced tomato do not keep falling out. Slice, salt and drain on paper towels. Assemble two slices of light toast, buttered or not, spread generously with mayonnaise, with four whole slices of cooked, crisp bacon, the tomato and leaf lettuce. Cut into four triangles and spear each one with a toothpick. Assemble quickly and eat immediately so the bacon and toast are still crisp.

#3 Orange Gazpacho

For snack, lunch, first course or light meal:
This recipe appears in the August 6 copy of ruthcooks newsletter. If you do not receive my newsletter you may sign up here:
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#4 Tomatoes Guacamole with Bacon

For lunch, first course or light meal:
You’ll find this recipe in my cookbook, “Nobody Cooks Like Ruth: Menus from Cherotree” available here:
http://ruthcooks.com/bookinfo.htm

#5 Bandannas

For lunch or light meal:
This one is also in the cookbook. It’s a bread loaf or hard roll hollowed out and filled with tomatoes, onions, cheese, olives, basil, etc. and heated.

#6 Tomato and Egg Tonnato

For lunch or light meal:
Make a tonnato sauce: in the blender container, place 1 can tuna, preferably in oil, 1 can flat anchovies with their oil, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 Tablespoon capers with juice. Blend, adding enough olive oil to moisten, up to 1/2 cup. Season with freshly ground black pepper. About four servings.

For each serving you’ll want half of a large tomato, peeled and seeded, and a hard cooked egg, quartered. Turn the tomato upside down on a leaf of lettuce and place the egg quarters around it. Cover tomato with sauce. Garnish with black olives, if desired.

Sometimes I simply chunk the tomato into bite-sized pieces and dip each piece into a cup of sauce. The tomatoes gradually water down the sauce when you combine them.

Another time, use a minimum of oil in the Tonnato Sauce and combine it with up to a cup of mayonnaise. Use as a dip for fresh vegetables.

#7 Mary Linda’s Tomato-Bread Cocktail

As a first course, salad or light meal:
About 2 hours before serving, peel, seed and dice one large tomato per serving. Dice one medium sweet (or red) onion for every four servings. Put these in a glass or china bowl. Add vegetable oil and red wine vinegar in a proportion of one part oil to two or three parts vinegar, freshly ground pepper and a generous quantity of salt. Chill.

Just before serving, taste. You may have to add more salt. Add finely chopped parsley, if desired, or some basil chiffonade—I like it without. When ready to serve, heat a crusty loaf of French or Italian bread or sourdough. Tear the bread into small pieces and place in serving bowls. Spoon the chilled tomatoes and their juices over, and serve immediately. Unbelievably good for such little effort.

Note: Olive oil is not used, because the chilling would solidify it. This dish bears some resemblance to panzanella, an Italian bread salad, although in the Italian version the bread is usually either soaked and squeezed or fried, then chilled with the tomatoes. It’s the combination of cold tomatoes and hot bread that make this dish so special.

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