Culinary Architect: What do you do with too many tomatoes?

Alexandra Troy

If you are like me, right about now you have a garden filled with ripe tomatoes and you just don’t know another fast and easy way to prepare them.  We all know that homegrown or farm stand tomatoes are so much more delicious than store bought.

Besides making lots of bacon,lettuce & tomato sandwiches or canning your darlings, there are other options.  Tomato Salsa is a wonderful hors d’oeuvre.  If you don’t have a lot of time, you may substitute store bought croustades for the freshly baked ones that are in the recipe.

Culinary Architect’s Gazpacho is one of those soups that just get better and better each day.  

So, make a batch on the weekend and enjoy it during the week.

The Tomatoes Provencal are one of my favorite dishes from The South of France.  Fresh, ripe and herby goodness.  

Try making one or all of the following recipes and you will be glad you grew all of those delicious tomatoes.

Menu

Serves 4

Tomato Salsa on Croustades

Culinary Architect’s Gazpacho

Tomatoes Provencal

Culinary Architect’s Gorgeous 

Tomato,Onion & Basil 

Pinwheel

Tomato Salsa 

on Croustades

1/2  baguette, sliced into 

1/4” pieces

1/4  cup olive oil

1 plum tomato, cut into 

1/4” diced pieces

12 yellow cherry tomatoes, 

cut into 1/6s, if available

1 small onion, diced

1 large Jalapeno, seeds 

and ribs removed, diced

1 tblsp. Italian parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Brush olive oil on bread.  Place on Silpat and bake until light brown – approximately 10 minutes.

3.  Place remaining olive oil in a bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Season to taste.  Cover and let flavors blend.

4.  To serve:  Place a dollop of salsa on croustade and serve. Or if you are really lazy, place salsa in a bowl and coustades in a basket.

Culinary Architect’s Gazpacho

1 clove garlic

1 large tomato, cut 

into quarters

1 large Japanese (hot 

house or English) cucumber, 

cut into quarters

1/2 large green pepper, 

cut in half

1/2 cup tomato/veggie juice

5 oz. beef consomme

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4  cup olive oil

1 tblsp. each fresh basil, 

fresh thyme

1 tsp. Tabasco

Pinch of salt and pepper

Japanese Cucumber, 

cut into slices for garnish

1.  In a Cuisinart, fitted with a steel blade, place garlic, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, green pepper.  With on-off movements, pulse and coarsely chop.

2.  Add remaining ingredients and combine.  Refrigerate until serving.

3.  Cut out garnishes from cucumber slices. (If you are really lazy, just skip the garnish)

4.  To serve, ladle in bowls and top with cucumber garnish.

Tomatoes Provençal .jpeg

Tomatoes Provencal

2 large tomatoes, cut in 

half and stem removed

1/2 cup flavored bread 

crumbs

3 tblsp Herbs de Provence

1 tblsp Parmesan cheese 

(if desired)

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Place tomatoes in a dish, skin side down.

3.  Mix bread crumbs, Herbs de Provence and Parmesan Cheese in a bowl.

4.  Divide bread crumbs; drizzle with olive oil

5.  Bake 40 minutes or until done.  Just before serving, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Tomato onion pinwheel.jpeg

Culinary Architect’s Tomato, Onion & Basil Pinwheel

2 ripe  Beefsteak tomatoes, 

sliced into thick slices

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

3  tblsp sugar

1/2 bunch fresh basil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1.  Soak red onion in water to cover. Add sugar for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.

2.  Drain onions.  Platter tomatoes, onions and basil by alternating in a pinwheel.

3.  Right before serving, drizzle with olive oil.

Alexandra Troy is owner of Culinary Architect Catering, a 32-year old Greenvale-based company, specializing in private, corporate and promotional parties.  For more photos and presentation ideas, follow Culinary Architect Catering on Facebook.

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