More than just ketchup: Innovative recipes featuring tomatoes
Tomatoes double-up as bread and more in these recipes that shine a spotlight on the fruit
Participants at a recent tomato-recipe contest who submitted the entries which were ranked first, second and third had something in common: They made the most of what they had.
The participants had been asked to submit easy and original creations with no more than 10 ingredients. Of the 200 recipes received for the contest, a hefty percentage was for soups, sandwiches and pastas with basil.
Mary Jo Sweeney's 'Mato Sammidges were an early standout. In 1983, she and her husband, Dave Hoffman, were stationed apart, in San Diego and Monterey, California.
The couple reunited on weekends; grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches were the plan for one particular day.
When Sweeney brought out the sourdough, she found it had gone bad.
“I looked at the tomatoes and wondered: ‘What if I were to slice and use them like sandwich bread halves instead? The filling could be cheese and meat,''' she said.
Innovative streak
To keep things in place, she treated the tomato sandwiches to a flour-egg-breadcrumb coating and a turn in the skillet until golden brown outside and just warm inside.
“They came out great,'' Sweeney says. “We've been making them ever since.''
Hoffman is responsible for the name: When he was a child, “sammidge'' was as close as he could get to pronouncing “sandwich''.
The term stuck as a family endearment. They serve 'Mato Sammidges as a side dish with grilled meats and a main course with salad.
Jamaican-born Andrea Okwesa, resident of Reston, Virginia, says she has always loved to cook with tomatoes and onions and garlic and spices.
“I put them all in my mother's big old iron skillet'' and came up with Andrea's All-Purpose, All-Natural Thick 'n' Tasty Tomato Sauce (recipe not given). It's chunky and luscious, good as a condiment and as an accompaniment for pasta.
Diane Leveglia of Waldorf, Maryland, reprised a recipe her mother used to make on Fridays.
“We were Italian Catholics who couldn't eat meat and we hated fish,'' she says. So Summer Garden Poached Eggs was the answer.
After Leveglia had picked plenty of zucchini and tomatoes from her garden recently, she realised she had all the makings of her mother's economical meal.
The vegetable combination is light and tasty, with a poached egg and its runny yolk topping things off.
RECIPE
'Mato Sammidges
These are rich sandwiches made without bread: A combination of soft herbed cheese and turkey bacon goes between thick slices of tomato, then the short stacks are breaded and sauteed on the stove top.
Warm sandwiches can be cut into quarters and served as hors d'oeuvres.
For filling variations, a mix of cream cheese and blue cheese could be used (without the bacon), which would make a nice sandwich to accompany grilled steak.
Replace the bacon with a thin slice of roast beef and use brie for a lunchtime sandwich, or make it meatless with homemade pesto and shavings of Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 large ripe tomatoes, cut horizontally into 8 slices that are 1/2 inch thick
- 2 5.2-ounce packages garlic- and herb-flavoured soft cheese at room temperature
- 8 slices thick-sliced turkey bacon, cooked until crisp, then drained
- 2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- Flour
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned fine dried bread crumbs
Place the tomato slices between paper towels for 15 minutes to drain any excess juices. Make at least 4 matching pairs of similar-size slices. Spread a thick layer of cheese ( 1/4 inch) on one side of each tomato slice.
Crumble the bacon and divide evenly over four of the slices. Mate the halves together to make sandwiches. Lay a few layers of paper towels on a platter. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil shimmers.
Meanwhile, season the flour liberally with salt and pepper and place in a shallow bowl; place the beaten eggs and bread crumbs nearby in separate shallow bowls.
Coat both sides of each sandwich, first in the seasoned flour, then in the egg and then in the bread crumbs, shaking off any excess bread crumbs while making sure the sandwiches are well covered.
Cook the sandwiches for 2 to 3 minutes, until a golden brown crust forms, then carefully turn them over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown on the second side. (If working in batches, add oil as needed.)
Transfer to the paper towel-lined platter to drain slightly; serve warm.
Servings: 8 half sandwiches
Nutrition per serving: 253 calories, 7 g protein, 9 g carbohydrates, 22 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 77 mg cholesterol, 467 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber
RECIPE
Summer Garden Poached Eggs
Lightly and simply sauteed summer vegetables make a nice platform for the runny yolk of a well-poached egg. Serve for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions, quartered and sliced (2 cups)
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 8 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 10 to 12 basil leaves, stacked, rolled tightly and cut crosswise into thin strips (chiffonade)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Heat the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan (or skillet with high sides) over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 7 minutes, until they are translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for a minute.
Reduce the heat to low and add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the zucchini and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on the desired degree of doneness. Break each egg into a separate saucer or small cup.
Working with 1 egg at a time, tip them carefully into the hot tomato-zucchini mixture by lowering the lip of each egg cup 1/2 inch below the surface of the mixture. Use a spoon to gently corral the egg whites closer to their yolks, if necessary. Immediately cover the pan and turn off the heat (do not move the pan).
Let sit, undisturbed, for 4 minutes. The yolks should be quite delicate and not at all firm. Divide among individual plates; season with salt and pepper to taste and Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.
Servings: 4
Nutrition per 1/2-cup serving: : 217 calories, 10 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 12 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 212 mg cholesterol, 96 mg sodium, 5 g dietary fibre.
RECIPE
Tomatoes with Pumpernickel Stuffing
Tomato and pumpernickel make a good flavour match in this German-inspired dish. These stuffed tomatoes can be baked or cooked in the microwave on high heat for 10 minutes.
Serve as a light lunch or with wholewheat pasta for dinner. From Imke Ahlf-Wien, a resident of Hyattsville, Maryland, US.
- 6 tomatoes, large, washed and cored
- 2 slices pumpernickel bread (4 ounces total)
- 1 onion, medium size, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, medium, minced
- 2 tsp basil leaves, finely minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- A pinch of black pepper, freshly ground, plus more to taste
- 1 to 8-ounce ball whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 6 slices of equal thickness
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Have ready a baking dish that is at least 8x14 inches or large enough to hold the 6 tomatoes.
Slice off 1/4 inch from the top of each tomato or enough to make a wide opening. Coarsely chop the “lid'' pieces and place in a medium mixing bowl.
Use a teaspoon to remove the insides of the tomatoes; coarsely chop and add to the bowl (including seeds and gel). If necessary, trim the bottoms of the tomatoes so they sit flat. Place the hollowed-out tomatoes in the baking dish.
Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl, along with the onion, garlic and basil, stirring to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of the cream, then the salt and the pepper; mix well. Divide the mixture among the tomatoes in the baking dish, filling them to the top; if there is any left over, place it around the stuffed tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the remaining cream on the leftover filling or pour into the bottom of the baking dish.
Cover each tomato with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the cheese has browned lightly. Serve hot or warm, with a little of the extra cream-enriched baked filling, if desired.
Servings: 6
Nutrition per serving: 313 calories, 13g protein, 18g carbohydrates, 22g fat, 13g saturated fat, 79mg cholesterol, 577mg sodium, 3g dietary fibre.
