I never tire of eating the tomatoes I grow in my garden. Our tomato harvest has been positively phenomenal this year (you can see some instagram photos of my tomatoes below), so I thought it would be fun to write up an epic tomato blog post. I’m going to give you one of my new favorite recipes for fresh tomatoes, along with 50 other ideas (from my blog archives and other bloggers) for using them!
Let’s talk about the quick tomato sauce first. In past years, I have water-bath canned my own tomato sauce and wasn’t that thrilled with the results. I far prefer to make and enjoy this sauce when tomatoes are abundant, and to freeze any leftovers. (Now if someone can tell me how to make a home-canned sauce that tastes like Rao’s, I’ll be ecstatic!).
I make this with my homegrown San Marzano tomatoes. San Marzanos are a type of plum tomatoes: they have thicker flesh and fewer seeds than other tomatoes, and I grow them every year because they have terrific flavor and are perfect for making sauces, tomato paste, etc. If you don’t have access to San Marzanos, use a variety of plum tomatoes that’s easier to find- such as Romas- for this sauce.
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And now for 50 more ways to use fresh tomatoes! Some of these recipes are from my archives and some are from blogging buddies…I hope you get to enjoy many of them before tomato season ends!
Salads:
Tomato Watermelon Salad (Shutterbean)
Old School Tomato Salad (The Clever Carrot)
Roasted Basil and Eggplant with Heirlooms and Balsamic Drizzle (With Food and Love)
Southeast Asian Tomato Salad (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Shredded Kale Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta (Sprouted Kitchen)
Salsas, Sauces, + Other Condiments Featuring Tomatoes:
Totally Rad Fermented Salsa (Revived Kitchen)
Fiery Roasted Salsa (HeartBeet Kitchen)
Roasted Tomato Salsa (Food for My Family)
Fresh Salsa with Heirloom Tomatoes (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Slow Roasted Tomato Hummus (Kalyn’s Kitchen)
Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter (Food52)
Pickled Cherry Tomatoes (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Green Tomato Chutney (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Tomato Jam (Food in Jars)
Basic Tomato Sauce (The Kitchn)
Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette (Tasty Yummies)
Homemade Tomato Paste (Saveur)
Pastas:
Roasted Tomato Peach Sauce with Spaghetti (Running to the Kitchen)
Melissa Clark’s Bacon, Rosemary, and Tomato Pasta (Design Sponge)
Slow Roasted Tomatoes and Black Pepper Pasta (Beard and Bonnet)
Pizzas, Pies, Tarts, and Galettes:
Heirloom Tomato Pizza (Heather Christo Cooks)
Cherry Tomato and Goat Cheese Galette (So, Let’s Hang Out)
Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini (Smitten Kitchen)
Simplest Tomato Tart (80Twenty)
Caprese Tart with Roasted Tomatoes (Simply Delicious Food)
French Tomato Tart (David Lebovitz)
Tomato Pie with Basil and Jalapeno (Homesick Texan)
Tomato and Black Bean Tart (Pure Ella)
Baked + Roasted Tomato Recipes:
Parmesan Tomato Gratin (Running to the Kitchen)
Roasted Cherry Tomato Bowls (Love and Lemons)
Tomatoes Provencale Recipe (Nourished Kitchen)
Roasted Tomatoes with Burrata and Pesto (A Thought for Food)
Tomato and Summer Squash Cobbler (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Roasted Tomatoes with Fontina and Thyme (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Roasted Cherry Tomato Frittata (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Slow Roasted Tomatoes (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Slow Roasted Tomato BLT (Closet Cooking)
Stuffed Baked Tomatoes (Happyolks)
Soups:
Chilled Double Tomato Soup (Gourmande in the Kitchen)
Roasted Tomato Gazpacho (Savory Simple)
Roasted Tomato Soup (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Raw Tomato Basil Soup (Healthy Green Kitchen)
Other Delicious-Looking Ways to Eat Tomatoes:
Farmer’s Market Cornbread with Sweet Corn, Cherry Tomatoes, and Sheep’s Cheese (The Bojon Gourmet)
Pan Con Tomate (Chez Us)
Bruschetta with Tomato Sauce, Balsamic, and Fresh Fennel (Food Loves Writing)
Rainbow Tomato Bruschetta with Basil and Ricotta (Leaf and Grain)
Grilled Tomato Skewers (White on Rice Couple)
Fried Green Tomatoes (Table for Two)
Oat Crepes with Tomatoes, Basil and Goat Cheese (Naturally Ella)
Vanilla Cornmeal Crumb Cake with Candied Cherry Tomatoes (How Sweet Eats)
Quick Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- *1/4 cup olive oil
- *2 cloves garlic minced
- *1 large shallot finely chopped
- *15 San Marzano or Roma tomatoes coarsely chopped
- *1 teaspoon salt
- *1 teaspoon dried oregano
- *2 quick pours of balsamic vinegar or to taste
- *1 teaspoon sugar this is optional...I used organic sugar; if you happen to keep vanilla sugar or rosemary sugar on hand, either of these would make a delicious additions
- *about 15 leaves of fresh basil
Instructions
- 1. Gently heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the minced garlic and the chopped shallot.
- 2. Cook over low-medium heat until the garlic/shallots are fragrant (a minute or so), then add the tomatoes, the salt, and the oregano.
- 3. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 more minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened a bit. Add the balsamic vinegar, the sugar, and the basil, stir to combine, and cook for another minute or two.
- 4. Leftovers will keep for a week or two in the refrigerator, or you may freeze the sauce for longer-term storage.
