Recipes
Recipes
These are simple dishes in which tomatoes are the star rather than the background. All the recipes are home cooking: ordinary pans, clear quantities and no hard-to-find ingredients. If your tomatoes aren't very sweet, a pinch of sugar and some salt will balance the flavour — the steps tell you when.
Two-thirds of a tomato dish's flavour is decided at the shop or in the garden. A ripe, fragrant tomato makes a simple recipe feel special.
How this section works: a recipe makes it in if it can be cooked at home in one evening from easy-to-find ingredients; quantities are in grams, pieces and spoons, and times allow some leeway.
Pasta with fresh tomato sauce
A quick sauce that cooks while the pasta boils.
Ingredients
- Ripe tomatoes800 g
- Spaghetti or other pasta400 g
- Olive oil3 tbsp
- Garlic3 cloves
- Fresh basila small bunch
- Sugara pinch, to taste
- Salt and black pepperto taste
- Grated hard cheese40–50 g, to serve
Method
Prepare the tomatoes
Score a cross in each tomato, plunge into boiling water for 20–60 seconds, then into iced water, and slip off the skins. Dice the flesh.
Put the pasta water on
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt it well.
Fry the garlic
Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat, add the thinly sliced garlic and cook for about a minute without letting it colour.
Simmer the tomatoes
Add the tomatoes, season with salt and simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens. If it tastes sharp, add a pinch of sugar.
Cook the pasta
Cook the pasta for one minute less than the packet says. Before draining, scoop out half a glass of the cooking water.
Bring it together
Tip the pasta into the sauce, add a splash of the cooking water and toss over the heat for 1–2 minutes. Add torn basil and pepper, and serve with the cheese.
Tip: Once the season is over and fresh tomatoes lack flavour, use canned tomatoes in their own juice: they make a richer sauce.
Tomato salad with onion and herbs
The simplest salad there is — it depends entirely on the quality of the tomatoes.
Ingredients
- Ripe tomatoes600 g
- Red onion1 small onion
- Dill and parsley4–5 sprigs of each
- Sunflower or olive oil2–3 tbsp
- Wine or cider vinegar1 tsp, optional
- Salt and black pepperto taste
Method
Slice the onion
Slice the onion into thin half-moons. If it is very sharp, soak it in cold water for 5 minutes and pat dry.
Cut the tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes into wedges or large chunks with a sharp knife so you don't squeeze out the juice.
Chop the herbs
Finely chop the dill and parsley, discarding the thick stalks.
Dress the salad
Put everything in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and, if you like, vinegar. Toss gently.
Serve straight away
Salt the salad just before serving: salt quickly draws out the juice and makes the tomatoes watery.
Tip: Don't use tomatoes straight from the fridge for a salad: let them sit at room temperature first so their aroma comes through.
Roasted tomato soup
Roasting gives a deeper, sweeter flavour than simply simmering.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes1.2 kg
- Onion1 large
- Carrot1 medium
- Garlic4 cloves
- Olive oil3 tbsp
- Vegetable or chicken stock500 ml
- Cream (10–20% fat)100 ml, optional
- Dried thyme or oregano1 tsp
- Salt, pepper, sugarto taste
Method
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 200 °C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut the vegetables
Halve the tomatoes, cut the onion into wedges and the carrot into rounds. Leave the garlic cloves in their skins.
Roast
Spread the vegetables on the tray, tomatoes cut side up, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with herbs and salt. Roast for 35–40 minutes, until the edges of the tomatoes start to brown.
Add the stock
Transfer the vegetables to a saucepan, squeeze the garlic out of its skins, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Blend
Blend the soup with a stick blender. For a perfectly smooth texture, push it through a sieve to remove the skins and seeds.
Finish the seasoning
Stir in the cream and heat through without letting it boil hard. Taste and add salt, pepper and, if needed, a pinch of sugar.
Tip: You can make the soup without cream — just add a spoonful of olive oil to each bowl when serving.
Tomato bruschetta
A starter of toasted bread and fresh tomatoes, assembled just before serving.
Ingredients
- Baguette or ciabatta8 slices, 1.5 cm thick
- Ripe tomatoes400 g
- Garlic2 cloves
- Olive oil3 tbsp
- Fresh basil8–10 leaves
- Salt and black pepperto taste
Method
Make the topping
Finely dice the tomatoes, removing the most watery seeds. Mix with torn basil, 2 tbsp of the oil, salt and pepper.
Toast the bread
Toast the slices in a dry griddle pan or in the oven at 200 °C for 5–7 minutes, until crisp on the outside.
Rub with garlic
While the bread is hot, rub each slice with a cut garlic clove and drizzle with the remaining oil.
Assemble
Spoon the tomatoes onto the bread just before serving so it doesn't go soggy.
Tip: You can mix the topping 15–20 minutes ahead: the tomatoes will release their juice and become more fragrant. But only top the bread at the last moment.
Related sections
- Ingredients
Types of tomatoes and what goes with them: how to choose, how to store, how to use.
- Cooking techniques
Blanching, roasting, oven-drying, sauce, homemade tomato paste, freezing and safe home canning.
- Baked tomatoes with cheese (in Russian)
A new home recipe for tomatoes baked with cheese, garlic and herbs, with variations and storage.
- Drinks
Homemade tomato juice, gazpacho and non-alcoholic ideas with tomato juice.
Sources
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
- Encyclopedic sources on Solanum lycopersicum
Times and temperatures in these recipes are a guide: a lot depends on your hob, oven, pans and the tomatoes themselves. For home preserving, use tested recipes that give processing times.