Tomatoes piling up? Author Andrea Chesman shares her favorite ways to eat 'em or save 'em.
Tomatoes! Red, yellow, green! Rounded, pear-shaped, grape-sized, as big as the head of a newborn babe. Early hybrids and slow-growing heritage varieties. Sweet or acidic, juice or meaty. Of all the vegetables we grow, tomatoes are often the most abundant — and the most versatile in the kitchen, whether you enjoy them fresh, roasted, frozen, or canned.
Arrange slices of tomatoes, drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Or dress them up with fresh herbs — basil, thyme, cilantro — or thinly sliced sweet onions. Insert sliced fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, or salami between the slices.
Dice tomatoes and cucumbers into little jewel-size pieces. Add diced bell peppers or sweet onions. Add kernels of corn (raw or blanched) and chopped herbs (cilantro, basil, thyme, oregano; choose one or add a mix of your favorites). Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
No more soggy pizzas, quiches, or tarts. Arrange sliced fresh tomatoes on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and let sit for at least 30 minutes to draw out excess liquid.
Place tomatoes in a single layer in an oiled baking dish. Roast for 2 hours at 350°F for plum tomato halves, or 20 minutes at 425°F for cherry tomatoes and tomato slices.
Transfer oven-roasted tomatoes and juices to a clean jar and cover with extra-virgin olive oil. Serve atop good bread. Use leftover oil to add tomato flavor to salads and sautés.
Buy some jumbo ziplock freezer bags. Bag tomatoes and freeze. Add to the bag until it is full. Turn frozen tomatoes into juice, salsa, or sauce later in the year when you're less overwhelmed by your harvest haul.
Freeze fresh tomato salsa in 1- or 2-cup containers. To use, defrost in a colander set over a bowl. Add just enough of the collected juices to restore perfect salsa texture.
To make your tomatoes acidic enough to be safely processed in a boiling-water bath, add ½ teaspoon of citric acid (available wherever canning supplies are sold) or 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. When cooking with these tomatoes, add a little sugar, if needed.
Fill quart jars with whole peeled tomatoes (squeeze in as many as possible). Fill any remaining space with boiling water and process in a boiling-water bath for 90 minutes.
Chop whole tomatoes (don't bother seeding or peeling). Add them to a saucepan with a little water to prevent scorching and boil until the tomatoes are easily crushed, 5 to 10 minutes (or more, depending on the size of your batch). Run the tomatoes through a food mill to get rid of the seeds and skins. Return to the pot, bring to a boil, and process in quart jars for 40 minutes. For sauce, cook to desired thickness before processing.