by Chrysa Smith
Tired of reading about summer veggies yet? Well, then your in luck. Because today, we’re back to fruit. That’s right—the perfect, summer tomato. If you haven’t already started seeing the yield, just wait a little longer—-they’re coming and boy, are they delicious and packed with the healthy nutritious benefits of anti-oxidants and Licopene.
Finally, one of my favorite foods is actually good for me. I can eat as many as I like and not worry about calorie counts—well, at least when they’re prepared my favorite ways. So, if you’re just slicing and serving in a salad, on a plate with some onions or just biting into the succulent balls cold-turkey, that’s great. But if you’d like to jazz things up a bit—-and maybe figure out how to use up that bushel you just picked up at the farmer’s market—here are a few favorite ways of serving and enjoying them.
Steakhouse Tomato Salad (from Martha Stewart)
Cut thick slices of tomato and layer with some sweet onion on a plate. Then, top it off with this dressing: 3 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tbsp. cider vinegar, 2 tbsp. ketchup, 1 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. paprika (I like the smoked kind) and 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste. Mix up the dressing, pour on the salad and enjoy. It’s got a little bite, like a well-seasoned barbeque sauce—but really nice with a London Broil (or other grilled steak) or even a roast chicken.
Broiled Tomatoes (from Jeff Smith)
Anyone remember The Frugal Gourmet? He was one of my first favorite TV food personalities. And with being newly married back in the 80’s, cooking on a shoestring had great appeal. So I was first introduced to cooking fresh tomatoes through another Smith, and still enjoy them this way today. Hope you do too.
French version: Starting with whole tomatoes, cut in half across the grain, place on a baking sheet with cut side up (you might just slice the bottom to lay flat, so it’s easier to serve). On this you will sprinkle the following mixture: crushed garlic cloves, a little olive oil, bread crumbs, dried basil and freshly grated Parm or Romano cheese. Broil or grill just until the cheese melts a little and gets brown—-couple of minutes.
Italian version:Same as above, but remove the bread crumbs and replace with oregano and maybe a little cilantro (my suggestion).
Chrysa Smith’s Baked Tomatoes: Well, OK. They say there are really no new ideas and this one actually came to me from a broiled salmon recipe, but I like it so well, I will prep tomatoes this way to serve with other dishes. It’s kind of a combo here. But I chop tomatoes and combine with a little olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper, then top them off with a little smoked paprika, diced garlic and cilantro. Bake for maybe 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven and serve alongside seafood, chicken, pork—it’s yummy. Just had it last night. With the salmon, everything goes into one baking dish and gets topped the same way. Try it with some Sockeye Salmon (my favorite)—even my salmon-hating hubby likes this dish.