I’ve always thought of eating tomatoes just like eating an apple… but for some reason I have never done it.
But with these mini tomatoes from my CSA box, I’ve been eating tomatoes just like I eat candy… they’re so small and so cute, the only thing you really want to do is pop them in your mouth. It’s nature’s candy…
A while ago, I was shopping in Plaza las Américas with my friend Annie Mariel. We decided to grab something light to eat at a restaurant there called La Patisserie. She had her usual salmon fillet over lentils and I decided to have a pasta salad with tomatoes, pesto and fresh mozzarella. That’s what the menu said – FRESH MOZZARELLA.
When I received my pasta salad… it was nothing like I had expected. The pasta was overcooked, the mozzarella was certainly not fresh, the pesto tasted from a bottle and the cheese was added when the pasta was hot, so the pieces had melted into a strange goo. Yuck… I was not a happy camper.
When I started making strange faces about my dissatisfaction with my entrée, Annie Mariel said: “I am sure you can make a 200% better version of that pasta salad. Go for it.”
So this is it… my better version of a Caprese Pasta Salad… let me know if you like it too.
CAPRESE PASTA SALAD
½ pound of whole grain pasta – brown rice or whole wheat spirals, macaroni or penne will all do 1 cup of tomatoes, diced ¼ cup of sun dried or oven roasted tomatoes, diced or sliced About 1/3 cup of olive oil, plus more to dress the salad Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste 1 clove of garlic, smashed once 3-4 large fresh basil leaves 3-4 thick slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
With the plethora of tomatoes I’ve been receiving from my CSA box, I needed a way to use them up in quantities before they went bad – because in a week’s time I would be receiving another huge batch.
I have been a fan of sun-dried tomatoes for a while now… it was my first “foodie” grocery purchase about 10 yrs ago. I remember we went to this gourmet store called Domenico’s, which is no longer in operation. I went to buy sun-dried tomatoes, but left with my first piece of Gruyere cheese too. It was a good day.
So I decided how it would be if I made my very own version of sun-dried tomatoes… they’ll not completely dry, but the flavor is definitely intensified by roasting them low and slow.
OVEN-ROASTED TOMATOES
As many tomatoes as you can fit in a baking sheet – halved and seeded A drizzle of olive oil – about 1 tbs for the whole thing A sprinkling of Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste About ½ tbs of balsamic vinegar A few leaves of thyme – optional
Use them in your favorite tomato application… they’ll impart an intense tomato flavor to pastas, salads and sandwiches.
I am a bread lover… I inherited that from my dad. And I already established I am also a tomato lover… so what would be best than to put those two loves together??
Pa amb tomàquet, as it is called in Catalan, is the official bread tapa of choice in Barcelona and all of Cataluña. You get a plate of it as soon as you sit down in any restaurant. And it’s also used as the bread of choice in a bocadillo or sandwich in that area.
It’s a true testament of how great ingredients come together in a beautiful harmony…
PAN CON TOMATE
1 demi baguette whole grain bread 2 ripe tomatoes, organic preferably Spanish olive oil – Spanish oil made from arbequina olives from the Penedés region would be extremely appropriate in this application Salt and Pepper to taste
Cut into pieces and serve as an appetizer or tapa.
I LOVE tomatoes!!!! I just love them immensely… they might well be my favorite vegetable. I am stuck between potatoes and tomatoes as my favorite, and I am just realizing that possibly neither of them is actually a vegetable.
Oh well, vegetable or not, I have been receiving way too many tomatoes in my weekly CSA box that I have been finding creative ways to have them. Although growing up I used to just slice a tomato as a way to add “a salad” to my plate and, to this day, I still do it when I am too lazy to wash lettuces and cut up other salad components.
Something I recently started doing (or stopped doing would be a more accurate expression) is to not place tomatoes in the fridge. With the temperatures being so hot here in PR, I always believed tomatoes would spoil way too quickly if they were left sitting on a counter. Well, they eventually can spoil, but you can safely leave them there for a good week and they will be perfect. The taste of a tomato is definitely better and more intense if it’s left at room temperature. Apparently there is a component in the tomato that is shuts down its flavor permanently if the tomato is kept in the fridge.
This is a tomato salad made to celebrate the lusciousness of tomatoes…
TOMATO SALAD WTH GOAT CHEESE TOASTS
Tomatoes – organic and local preferably to ensure their freshness and flavor 1 whole-grain demi-baguette, sliced on a bias Salt/Pepper to taste Drizzle of olive oil About 2 oz of goat cheese – left at room temperature for a few minutes About 1 tbs of Basil/Parsley oil
KarmaFree Cooking 