Tomatoes on the vine are positively alluring; and fresh cherry tomatoes are as sweet as candy. Search for tomatoes with a real “fresh from the garden” flavour; look for rich beefsteak tomatoes for cooking; pay a little more for tomatoes ripened on the vine. Or why not grow your own tomatoes? If you have limited space, a small bush-type cherry tomato plant can be grown on a sunny windowsill giving you a generous harvest of delicious, perfect fruits.
Baked Rosemary and Garlic Tomatoes
Ingredients (for each person)
- One beefsteak tomato
- One clove of garlic
- A generous sprig of fresh rosemary, or half a teaspoon of dried rosemary
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
Cut a small slice off the top of each tomato. Scoop out the flesh of the tomatoes from the hole with a small spoon; leave the outer flesh and skin of the tomato intact. Chop the tomato flesh in a bowl, mix with salt, pepper, the chopped rosemary and the crushed garlic.
Fill each tomato case with the mix, place in a shallow baking dish, and pour a little olive oil over each tomato. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for twenty minutes.
Baked rosemary and garlic tomatoes are delicious served with griddled chicken and minted and buttered new potatoes.
Cherry Tomato Seasonal Salad
Dressing ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chilli powder/sauce or mustard
- Honey
- Crushed garlic if liked
Salad ingredients:
- Halved or quartered cherry tomatoes
a selection of the following, according to what you enjoy! Experiment with other salad ingredient you have available.
- Watercress
- Sorrel
- Young dandelion leaves
- Fresh chives, chopped finely
- Cooked green lentils
- Sweetcorn
- Diced cucumber
- Diced cheese
- Chopped hard boiled egg
Beat the dressing ingredients together in a bowl with a fork. Chop the leaves finely in a cup using kitchen scissors, add to the salad dressing along with the other ingredients and mix well.
For a simple, nutritious, inexpensive lunch serve cherry tomato seasonal salad with oily fish such as tinned sardines. Accompany with wholemeal bread along with a small bowl of extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper for dipping the bread.
Tomato, cheese and summer herb grilled pancakes
Prepare one pancake for each person – do not add sugar to the batter.
Place the pancake on a grill pan and pre-heat the grill. Spread sliced or grated cheese thinly over each spread pancake. Spinkle fresh or dried summer herbs over the cheese (for example basil, oregano, thyme or a mixture). Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Slice flavoursome tomatoes thickly, and arrange over the cheese.
Grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the tomato softened, and serve immediately. Tomato, cheese and summer herb grilled pancakes may be accompanied by a cherry tomato seasonal salad.
If you still have too many tomatoes then why not try using a food dehydrator to preserve them for use over the winter?
