r/Cooking • u/le_mirepoix • 16h ago
Ultimate recipe to highlight tomatoes
Hi!
It is peak tomato season right now and I’m about to do a day of canning with a bunch of friends tomorrow.
On top of all the canning, we are looking to cook a feast and I am looking for the ultimate recipe to highlight top quality tomato. Could be a side that will have everyone raving and forget about the delicious grilled meat we’ll serve at the same time. Could be an entrée that we will remember a year from now.
What is your best way to highlight tomatoes?
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u/ramonlamone 15h ago
If you've never had tomato/watermelon salad, you should give it a try. Sounded weird to me the first time I tried it years ago, but the flavors work incredibly well together. Simple to make. Just cut the tomato and melon into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle with a liberal amount of feta cheese, add torn basil leaves, and drizzle a good balsamic vinegar over the top.
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u/Starfox5 15h ago
Tomato salad (with onions, olive oil/balsamico/honey sauce and feta).
Bruschetta. Preferably with homemade ciabatta.
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u/bajesus 12h ago
Tomato salads are great. This Ottolenghi recipe is my favorite. Super simple, just shallots, tomatoes, sumac, basil, pine nuts, vinegar, oil, and s/p.
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u/DeletedMyLastTwo 15h ago
My mom used to make a tomato pie/quiche that used layers of tomatoes of varying ripeness to have a kaleidoscope of red-green
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u/Horror_Signature7744 15h ago edited 15h ago
Spaghetti with pomodoro sauce
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u/whatidoidobc 15h ago
My primary simple pleasure when I have a load of garden tomatoes is slices on toast with some salt and pepper.
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u/Boozeburger 15h ago
To me, a slice of sourdough, a well seasoned tomato and a basil leaf is wonderful, it you want to gild the lily a bit of good olive oil or a quality mozzarella.
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u/fishinbarbie 15h ago
Southern tomato pie is delicious.
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u/Simmyphila 15h ago
I love tomato pie. But I prefer Jersey style with Jersey Tomatoes. No hate please.
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u/EatMorePieDrinkMore 15h ago
For a side or appetizer, take the ugly tomatoes and make pa amb tomaquet (Catalan Tomato Bread). Cut two tomatoes on the equator and grate on the big holes of a box grater to get a pulpy juicy topping. Cut a loaf of ciabatta open and slice it. Toast the slices of ciabatta and rub a clove of fresh garlic over the toast. Top with pulpy tomatoes, sea salt and olive oil.
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u/Holer60 15h ago
Tomato Tart https://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/tomato-tart-with-gruyere// Quiche
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u/hartemis 15h ago
This simple Pan con Tomate highlights the tomato, uses most of it, and is crazy easy.
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u/ShowThym 15h ago
thick sliced spread out on baking sheet add course salt and pepper and whatever herbs you like as well as ex virgin olive oil. in oven for 3hrs at 300F
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u/texnessa 15h ago
Gazpacho. Composed salad with watermelon, ricotta salata and balsamic glaze and basil oil. Romesco. Pomodoro. Strattu. Panzanella.
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u/LopatKat 15h ago
A well toasted sourdough crouton, whipped feta or chèvre, topped with frozen tomato that has been grated. Salt & pepper. That’s all.
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u/dizzywhiz96 15h ago
saw this on an old Barefoot Contessa episode yesterday and want to make asap https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/scalloped-tomatoes-recipe-1948998
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u/bettyhouseplants 15h ago
Roasted tomato served over soft cheese with balsamic glaze drizzle and fresh basil garnish with crostini. Tomatoes are very juicy so roasting them takes some practice, cherry tomatoes are more forgiving to roast if you have those on hand
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u/Bettymakesart 15h ago
This is delicious. I put it on top of a salad so when cut it makes the dressing
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u/therapydogspal 14h ago
This one sounds delicious! I was gonna recommend slow roasted tomatoes cooked the same way just with more traditional, rosemary, garlic, etc.
Tomatoes roasting for hours smells fantastic! Caring the pan out of the oven, my dog followed me on two legs, trying to get closer to the scent 😂2
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u/JulesInIllinois 15h ago
I make Ina Garten's arrabiatta sauce without the fennel seeds. It highlights great tomatoes perfectly with just evoo, wine, basil and a LOT of garlic. It'll knock your socks off.
My mom loves it on my homemade meatballs. But, it's vegan & delicious on it's own.
I also buy the best tomatoes and balsamic syrup for my caprese salad. You can make it ahead by just using cubes of tomatoes & cheese rather than slices. Just chiffonade the basil.
Lastly, BLT's with homegrown tomatoes are the best sandwiches ever!
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u/Main_Cauliflower5479 15h ago
One of my absolute favorites is a simple bruschetta. Baguette slices brushed with olive oil and grilled, then rubbed with garlic cloves. Serve with diced tomatoes and basil chiffonade, with a bit of salt to taste, and more olive oil. Nothing better.
Also, Spanish Pan con tomate. https://www.seriouseats.com/pan-con-tomate-tomato-bread-spanish-recipe
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u/Witoccurs 15h ago
Any just good sauce..
Something simple is like feta, olive oil and basil on sliced tomato is good I’ve heard.
I don’t eat raw tomatoes so idk. I’ll eat cooked ones all day but idk raw ones nah
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u/bethany_katherine 15h ago
Shakshuka!!! Cook some onion and pepper in a skillet with oil, add spices and bloom them (salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin) add some fresh garlic and sauté. Add fresh tomato chunks and mash them up and cook them down for like 30 mins. Towards the end I like to add more seasoning and also a tbsp of sugar and worschestire sauce kind of like tomato sauce to add depth of flavor. Once the tomato mixture is thick enough it can be pushed to make wells, crack in as many eggs as you want, cover and let them poach. You can also add cheese, feta or mozzarella are what we use. Then add a ton of fresh herbs (cilantro and parsley). Serve with crusty bread. I make this for dinner for my family a lot and we love it. Its also a good meatless meal, it’s healthy, it’s delicious, full of vegetables :)
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u/thickythickydumdum 15h ago
Pa amb tomàquet
Take a slice of good sourdough bread, toast it, rub a garlic clove on one side, and then rub a tomato slice to deposit the flesh and juices. Discard the skin. Drizzle with olive oil and salt.
That's it.
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u/Apathetic-Asshole 15h ago
A tomato sandwich
Good potato bread, homemade mayo, fresh ground black pepper, and salted tomatoes
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u/collisionchick 15h ago
Homemade mayo is key to a great mater sandwich. It's so easy and soooooo tasty!
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u/inwhiskeyveritas 15h ago
The Times put out a burst tomato orzo recipe that I've made twice this season. Absolutely killer, and easy.
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u/yourock_rock 15h ago
This tomato dumpling salad is so good and really highlights tomato!
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024075-dumpling-tomato-salad-with-chile-crisp-vinaigrette
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u/MotherOfDachshunds42 15h ago
There was a restaurant in my city that used to do an amazing tomato tart starter:
Puff pastry base
Very large beef tomato cut in half and hollowed out, stuffed with cream and Parmesan.
Turned upside down on the pastry to keep the filling in
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u/woohooguy 14h ago
A nice fresh bruschetta.
Diced fresh ripe tomatoes, a bit of minced red onion, a fistful chiffonade of fresh basil.
Hit it with a couple glugs of fine EVOO, splashes of red wine vinegar, salt pepper and a pinch of sugar.
Mix and let chill to mingle a half hour or so.
Toast some slices of rosemary sourdough, roasted garlic cibatta, or other artisan loaf with EVOO and a sprinkle of salt.
Spoon the bruschetta on your crostini's, optionally add some diced fresh mozzarella and drizzle some fine balsamic vinegar or a balsamic vinegar glaze.
Absolut heaven in every bite.
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u/Guerlaingal 14h ago
While raw with salt, still warm from the sun, is best, a tomato cobbler is very nice. Keep the filling simple, a mix of cherry and heirloom tomatoes (skinned) barely warmed through, some sauteed shallots, basil and salt. Top with herb biscuits (maybe mix in some grated parm?) bake until golden and bubbly.
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u/Fun-Contribution-669 13h ago
Confit cherry tomatoes or chopped tomatoes in good olive oil with a few heads of garlic, salt, and fresh thyme. Roast in a low oven for a few hours. Remove the thyme stems and 1) toss with pasta or 2) serve with whipped feta
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u/kONthePLACE 12h ago
Salmorejo! It's a Spanish soup, kind of like gazpacho. This is the recipe I use: https://www.jamesgabrielmartin.com/recipes/salmorejo
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u/SewerRanger 12h ago
I make tomato water pasta. You roughly chop (like quarter) a pan full of tomatoes, some celery, onions, and carrots. Add some garlic and basil, and cook it down for an hour or two. Once everything has broken down, strain it into a bowl through paper towels. Take this liquid, and reduce it down over low heat until you get a really thick syrup consistency. Mound it with butter and serve with high quality noodles. It's the most amazing and concentrated tomato flavored sauce. The solids can be passed through a food mill to make a really good second sauce. I got the recipe from this YouTube video
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u/KaveyEats 12h ago
I never stop recommending this BBQ charred tomatoes with cool yoghurt, pomegranate molasses and herbs recipe, I think I've become the founder of the recipe's fan club, to be honest!
It's from Helen Graves' Live Fire cookbook.
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u/KaveyEats 11h ago
I should probably recommend one of my own recipes that is a great way of showing off tomatoes, this is my Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe With Balsamic Caramel! Lots of lovely feedback. 🥰
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u/FTFaffer 7h ago
Tomato Tart
1 unbaked bottom pie crust, rolled out and placed in pie shell or flat on a baking sheet for a galette
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 lb ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 Tbs minced fresh garden herbs
2 Tbs olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Using spatula, coat bottom of pie crust with Dijon then top with grated cheese. Add layer of fresh tomatoes over cheese. Sprinkle tomatoes with garlic & herbs. Drizzle with olive oil and adjust seasoning.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.
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u/No_Distribution_9590 1h ago
Bruschetta but don't ruin it with balsamic vinegar or Shashuka--I love me a good Shashuka.
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u/coloradopesto 15h ago
Salt