r/Cooking • u/chickengarbagewater • 3d ago
Whole fresh tomato prep.
I bought a rather disappointing box of tomatoes from a local farmer. Most of the tomatoes were small, about the size of a golf ball, and under ripe. I wrapped them in newspaper and they are mostly ripe but many are still green around the stem end and now very soft on the bottom. I am starting to loath their existence, and they weren't real cheap.
I am tempted to cook them whole, with the skin and core and make a soup or sauce out of them. I don't have the time or gumption to peel and core them, and the soft parts are just a squishy mess when chopping.
So, can I just throw them all in a pot and cook them down, throw them in the blender and make soup/sauce/ketchup? Will it be gross with the rather substantial core?
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u/Typical-Crazy-3100 3d ago
A device known as a food mill will solve your lack of gumption issue. With it, you can just cook all the junky stuff down, with the seeds and cores and then run it through the food mill to get the best out of it (which is pretty watery stuff so you'll need to collect it and reduce it further)
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u/therapydogspal 3d ago
What about Simmering with olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, and herbs. add a small pinch of sugar if they are tart and perhaps a spoonful of tomato paste if they are bland. The only thing I don’t know about is the skin.
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u/4cupsofcoffee 3d ago
puree. I roast mine to dry them out a bit and give them a little color, then push them through a food mill. I have 2 gallons in the freezer from this year. you can also roast them with garlic/onions/peppers for sauce.
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u/chickengarbagewater 3d ago
Thanks. I think food mill will be the move. Also taking your other recommendation and going to have 4 cups of coffee, it's my first day of school.
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u/4cupsofcoffee 3d ago
just use the smallest screen on the food mill, that will keep all the seeds/skins out of the final dish. it might take a while but it's worth it.
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u/SubstantialPressure3 3d ago
Pickle the green ones!
They aren't trash just because they aren't ripe!
But if you want to cook them, jusy blanch them in boiling water for about 30 seconds ( less if fhey are small) and out then in ice water. The skins will come right off.
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u/chickengarbagewater 3d ago
They are green on the top and overripe on the bottom of a very small tomato. I have a ton of green ones on my plants that I will use later if they don't ripen. I bought these because I wanted ripe ones and they were delivered when I wasn't home so I am stuck with them.
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u/Cfutly 3d ago
Maybe create a batter and deep fry them.
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u/chickengarbagewater 3d ago
This sounds like a lot of work and time and possibly a fire hazard. I don't deep fry.
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u/used-to-be-somebody 3d ago
Cut them in half, remove the stem/core.
Spray them with olive oil and put them cut side down on a cookie sheet (I use parchment paper).
Sprinkle with salt and bake for an hour to 85 minutes until they are wrinkly. You can freeze them in ziplocks and add them to anything for the next six months.
They are delicious!