10 Easy, Amazing Ideas for Tomatoes
No need to tell you that these greenmarket staples are delicious on their own...but they can also be home runs in sandwiches, soups and spreads.
By Lynn Andriani
Photo: Jannah Eilanie Szeibert
A Cajun Method You Never Knew Worked with Vegetables
Use: Really firm Roma (aka plum) tomatoes
Blackening isn't just a technique that works well with chicken or fish. Dipping anything—in this case, sliced tomatoes that you've patted dry—in a mixture of Cajun spices, then cooking it in a hot cast-iron skillet is an amazing way to add heat and crunch. In this recipe from
Roberto's New Vegan Cooking, by Roberto Martin, the blackened tomatoes are matched with light, bright cucumber, mint and fennel.
Get the recipe: Blackened Plum Tomatoes Over Cucumber and Fennel Salad
A Pizza-Like Dish That's Beautifully Imperfect
Use: Cherry tomatoes (some sliced, some left whole)
This easy-breezy recipe reminds us of a deep-dish pizza, but instead of using a traditional crust, you use polenta (Italian cornmeal). Once you've whisked it with butter and stock and cooked it in a skillet, you scatter sliced mushrooms (any kind), crumbled feta and a hodgepodge of sliced and whole cherry tomatoes, which give the dish a nicely imperfect look. Slip it under the broiler so everything melts and the tomatoes slump, then toss a handful of arugula on top and your dinner is served.
Get the recipe: Polenta Bake with Tomato, Feta and Mushrooms
A "Ta-Da!" Makeover for a Humble Veggie
Use: Any large, round tomato
Tomatoes can make wonderful vessels for stuffing; just look for ones that are big and round, not oval (bonus: round beefsteak tomatoes have a sweeter flavor than ones that are more oblong-shaped). This deceptively simple recipe has you cook Italian sausage, corn kernels and the insides of the tomatoes, then mix them with cubes of baguette and shredded mozzarella. You fill each tomato with the mixture and bake until golden and bubbling. The tomatoes will gently come apart as you eat, so each bite will have plenty of their bright flavor.
Get the recipe: Stuffed Tomatoes with Sausage and Corn
Photo: Bob Ingelhart/iStock/Getty Images Plus
The Anytime Pie
Use: Baby pear tomatoes
Think of this lunch or brunch essential as a cross between a pizza and a fruit pie. You pile a savory mixture of baby pear tomatoes (which, like tiny pears, have narrow necks and a wide, round base), onions and celery into a crust, and then lay strips of dough over the filling in a crisscross pattern. The finished dish is mellow and just a little sweet, and tastes delicious hot, room temperature or cold.
Get the recipe: Tomato Pie
The New Spin on a Fried Classic
Use: Green tomatoes
This recipe,
from Sheryl Crow's personal chef Chuck White, is a play on the traditional BLT, without the bread. Fried tomato slices act as bookends, and, in between, roasted-garlic aioli acts as mayo, pancetta as bacon and spinach as lettuce.
Get the recipe: Fried Green Tomato BLT
The Soup You Want When It's Sweltering Out
Use: Heirloom tomatoes
This simple gazpacho is a wonderful way to highlight the acidity, sweetness and juiciness of those weird/beautiful-looking farm-stand classics. It's a great busy-day dinner, too, since you can make it ahead of time—the longer it sits in the fridge, the better it'll taste.
Get the recipe: Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho
Photo: Lisa Hubbard/Photolibrary/Getty Images
The Sunday Supper
Use: Plum tomatoes
With fewer seed compartments, and more solid content than their round counterparts, torpedo-shaped plum tomatoes are ideal for making pasta sauce. The San Marzano variety is the Rolls-Royce of plum tomatoes, but any ripe variety will work in this easy sauce.
Get the recipe: Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce
The One-Bite App
Use: Cherry tomatoes
These pesto-stuffed tomatoes are bright and beautiful, and offer a fresh alternative to
tomato-basil-mozzarella skewers. Use cherry and not grape tomatoes; otherwise, they won't stand upright and the filling will spill out.
Get the recipe: Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Pesto
The Stunningly Simple Sandwich
Use: Any kind of tomato, as long as it has a bit of that odd, dry-tomato-stem smell still on it
Here's all you need to make this perfect summer lunch: Thick slices of tomato, good bread, mayonnaise, salt and a little black pepper. That's it. Take a big bite, then another, and remember this moment in January.
Get the recipe: Tomato Sandwich
The Condiment You'll Put on Almost Anything
Use: Beefsteak tomatoes
Chef Michelle Bernstein created this fresh tomato relish—which has a rich flavor and hearty texture (read: not watery)—to complement juicy pork tenderloin with parsley-cilantro sauce. But it's also terrific with hamburgers, hot dogs or roasted chicken. One more way we love it: spread on top of bread or pizza dough as a stand-in for marinara sauce.
Get the recipe: Tomato Relish
Next: Refreshing meals for the hottest days
Published 06/29/2015
