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Challenge August 2013 - Tomatoes

34K views 269 replies 37 participants last post by  tony balthazar 
#1 ·

Welcome to the August 2013 Challenge. Topic of this month is... tomatoes.

I gave this challenge the name "La Tomatina", which refers to the annual crazy feast which takes place each last Wednesday of august in Buñol, Spain. The whole village participates in throwing overripe tomatoes at each other, tons of them. This is the moment to throw your tomato recipes into this thread, maybe not at each other and certainly not when you propose the use of canned tomatoes.

Think about what you can do to and with a tomato, it's endless. You can dry them, turn into a puree, boil them, roast them etc.. They can be used in any part of a meal, in a snack, in tapas, in mezze; in cold drinks and cocktails, in amuses like using cherry tomatoes and what not, in hot and cold soups, in hot and cold sauces, in quiches and tarts, as a vessel or important ingredient in main courses, in so many salads like Greek, Italian and, even better, your very own summery version.

Who's showing us how to make ketchup, chutneys, passata, tomato essence, tomato powder. Does anyone make ice-cream or a granita with tomatoes or any other dessert?

As you can see, this challenge is easy and very accessible for anyone.

Enjoy La Tomatina and thanks for participating!

 
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#2 ·
Quick and easy summery dish; Tomate crevette

This dish is so very traditional Belgian, especially along our small coastline. We are blessed with these local shrimp with their very particular taste. Japanese tourists go crazy for these!

We swear by buying them as fresh as possible, preferable still in their shells. Hand peeled crevettes are a true delight. Maybe interesting to know that these tiny creatures are boiled in... seawater before they are sold.

A "tomate crevette" is such a summery thing and so easy to prepare. You need to peel the tomatoes, cut a little cap off, hollow them and stuff with a mixture of crevettes, mayo, pinch of cayenne and I used chives too. Done. Serve with salad and homemade fries.

 
#5 · (Edited)
Ok so not an official entry either, since this is a dish I made a while ago...

Chicken Tajine with Tomato Jam.

First, in a cold dish, assemble the chicken, cilantro stems, roots and leaves, ginger, garlic, finely minced onion and saffron. Bring to temp very slowly, and simmer very slowly for a few minutes so the chicken start cooking.


Then put the chicken pieces aside and add a LOT of fresh diced tomatoes, cook very slowly for a loooong time to make the tomato jam.


When the jam is ready (it can easily take 2 to 3 hours so just be really patient) add a little bit of honey. Finish cooking the chicken pieces in the tomato jam, and serve with couscous or fresh Morrocan bread:

 
#6 ·
You are setting some high standards here Chris. Beautiful photographs as well. You might just win your own challenge.
Thanks but I don't really aim for that, I intend to try to keep low profile. How did the "rijsttafel" go?
(it can easily take 2 to 3 hours so just be really patient
I do love slow cooking, it always ends in such a reward for the patience and the effort put in those dishes. Very nice tajine FF, I can imagine the tomatoes going all sweet and concentrated after that long cooking time.
 
#7 ·
I do love slow cooking, it always ends in such a reward for the patience and the effort put in those dishes. Very nice tajine FF, I can imagine the tomatoes going all sweet and concentrated after that long cooking time.
Yes. Loooong slow cooking tomatoes and red bell peppers is a technique I learned from my Algerian/Morrocan grand mother. One time I cooked bell peppers for nearly 10 hours!! But what you get at the end is magical. The flavors are so concentrated!
 
#12 · (Edited)
I may have some oxheart and green zebras coming on soon. Maybe I'll make another batch of beef heart sausage, and this time claim the tomatoes are the main, the sandwich the side:


Fried, smoked, pickled green, stews, sauces, salads - where to begin - margherita pizza?

And speaking of slow cooking, I've got a hunk of pork shoulder that will be bo ssam tomorrow night.

mjb.
 
#13 ·
I may have some oxheart and green zebras coming on soon. Maybe I'll make another batch of beef heart sausage, and this time claim the tomatoes are the main, the sandwich the side:



Fried, smoked, pickled green, stews, sauces, salads - where to begin - margherita pizza?

And speaking of slow cooking, I've got a hunk of pork shoulder that will be bo ssam tomorrow night.

mjb.
Did u just eat the green tomatoes raw? Never had it before but it seems really tough and bitter. No?
 
#16 ·

Rijsttafel on a plate.

At the top is a chicken in tomato-ginger sauce (other ingredients: chili, garlic, lemon grass, djeruk perut)

In the middle from left to right: belly pork (double fried), rice and beef with spices in coconut

At the bottom: sweet and sour veges (egg plant, green pepper, red pepper, vinegar, chili, garlic).

I hope this entry counts/img/vbsmilies/smilies/confused.gif
 
#17 · (Edited)
Thanks all for diving so soon into "La Tomatina"!
I hope this entry counts
Absolutely, Butzy! Sounds delicious and let's not forget, sauces are so important, they do bring all components in a dish together.

You're seriously getting into the photography thing too, aren't you? Great picture!
The "green" tomatoes aren't green as in unripe, they are green as in a German green variety, likely Aunt Ruby's, not sure. The ones in the picture were perfectly ripe and tasty.
Mjb, The odd thing with oxhaert tomatoes is indeed that some stay partially green even though they are ripe. This type of tomatoes are since a few years a little more available in my country. However, I do remember them from holidays in the south of France where "coeur de boeuf" tomatoes were very popular. In the beginning we found it very strange to be served green-ish tomatoes, we thought they weren't ripe, but they sure were.
For the San Marzano I do not have much hope. They suffered badly in the freezing spring this year. No greenhouse.
Gene, in march, I bought some imported San Marzano tomatoes and took some seeds from them. I normally don't grow veggies myself; too less space. That doesn't keep me from experimenting. I smeared the seeds with the gelatinous surrounding substance out on a sheet of paper towel and left it to dry completely. Then it's easy to cut out a piece of paper with a seed, now stuck to the paper, and plant them. I know you're gonna think, that's a hybrid and you're right. So, in a less than 2 weeks in house, the seeds came out. When the plants were around 10 cm, I transferred 3 of them to a large pot. I now have 1 meter high plants carrying around a dozen small green San Marzanos. I'm gonna post a picture of my breed. One thing; these plants are incredibly thirsty, 5 liters of water for 3 plants in one pot!!
slow cooking tomatoes and red bell peppers is a technique I learned from my Algerian/Morrocan grand mother.
Oh, you do have roots in North Africa! I'd love to see some more tajines and couscous preparations in this thread, FF! I do remember your "couscous Royal" you posted a while ago.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Chris, I have an excellent source for tomato and chili seeds - and they did sprout 7 out of 8. However, when they were strong enough to go outside and really needed the additional sun, the weather broke down. Not enough light, bad conditions overall. Cost me most of my plants this spring. Lost my Cherokee Purples completely, only carrying on some Subarctic Plenty, Oxheart and San Marzano. Thankfully, I got some more from a friendly relative's well-kept traditional farmer's garden. Unnamed heirlooms adapted to the region.

Edit: Not Oxheart, those died too, but I have some Brandywine surviving.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I'm copying this one from a recent post I made in the "What did you have for dinner" thread. This is a fantastic summer dish, sort of a tomato quiche! and, so easy and quick to make.

Storebought pastry (pâte brisée), filling is a mixture of ricotta+fresh herbs+egg, halved "mini" tomatoes, cut side up, to keep the moist from dripping into the ricotta filling, thyme, garlic and the tomato vine branches for the aroma, which of course are not eaten.

 
#24 ·
Cherries confit pizza with fontina cheese

Cherries in olive oil, garlic, hot pepper.


The dough half done as i have not a strong enough oven so i must precook ( a sín!)

The pizza

Not the best dough in my life to tell the truth, but edible.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Oh , god i love tomatoes , but im allergic to them XD ( i can eat them but the juices give my skin a rash when in contact. )

But since i love them heres my dish

Creamy Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

The pitcure is horrible but i made a stuffed tomatoe , stuffed with a creamy rice with tomatoes and winter squash. The rice was cooked till al dente and the squash and the tomatoes were also cooked in separate vessels till soft. The i mixed the squash and tomatoes with the rice , seasoned with S&P , paresley , oregano , and basil then added fresh cream and very little mozarella cheese to the mix.

One the rice was done , i got me a plum tomatoe and removed the top , the seeds and a good amount of the flesh( note: you can use the flesh in you rice ) , stuffed the tomatoe with the rice and closed the tomatoe with the top i had removed. Placed in a separate cup cake baking pan , topped it off with some more cheese and some good olive oil , and sent it to the oven at 150 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Removed from baking sheet and plated with some fresh parsely an basil.

Well thats my 2 cents XD /img/vbsmilies/smilies/rollsmile.gif

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