Fresh Tomato Recipes
From fresh pico, tomato salad, to bruschetta, to gazpacho or even fresh pasta sauce, nothing compares to yummy garden tomatoes!
Scroll down to find a number of simple recipes to enjoy this simple pleasure!!!
Pico de Gallo
Pico De Gallo is a popular Mexican salsa that's loaded with fresh tomatoes, onion, peppers, cilantro, and lime juice. Pico De Gallo is excellent over tacos, burritos, nachos, or served with chips.
There are several (minor) variations: This very authentic one comes from NatashasKitchen.com
Ingredients:
1 lb tomatoes, (3-4 medium), diced
1/2 medium onion, (1 cup chopped)
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced (adjust to desired heat level)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp fresh pepper
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, combine diced tomatoes, onion, peppers and chopped cilantro.
Stir in 2 Tbsp lime juice and lightly season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper, or season to taste.
For best flavor, cover and refrigerate overnight before serving. Serves 6.
Feel free to adjust to your own liking. For more sweet tomato flavor, add more tomatoes and less onions and peppers. For more fire, double or triple up the hot peppers! If you don't like heat, substitute bell or poblano peppers for the hot ones. Increase or decrease the onions or cilantro based on your degree of affection for those flavors.
Easy Tomato Salad
This simple salad, made with thinly-sliced onions, fresh herbs, and a drizzle of oil and vinegar, lets juicy summer tomatoes shine.
You can do anything to combine tomatoes, herbs, a little oil & vinegar with salt and pepper to make your own version. This one comes from thekitchn.com.
Ingredients:
1
small onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
3 medium tomatoes
Herbs:
1/4 cup
packed fresh herbs, coarsely chopped
Choose from or combine: basil, basil blooms, cilantro, dill, parsley, sage, thyme, etc.
2 Tbs
extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs
red wine vinegar
1/2sea or pink salt
1/4 tsp
freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Place the onion in small bowl and cover with cold water. Let stand while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, about 10 minutes.
Core the tomatoes and slice into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons. Place in a large bowl. Add the herbs, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Drain the onions and add to the bowl. Toss to combine and let stand at room temperature for 10 - 30 minutes before serving. Taste and season with more salt, pepper, vinegar, or oil as needed.
Ceviche (Mexican Shrimp Cocktail)
Ceviche is loaded with shrimp, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber and cilantro- with fresh lime juice and clamato or tomato juice.
There are many variations. Like the pico recipe, we found this one from natashaskitchen.com, so be sure to check out Natasha's great page. The homemade clamato recipe is from houseofyumm.com
Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp (raw or cooked), peeled, deveined and diced
Juice from 6 limes
(1+ cup)
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 large avocado
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
(adjust to desired heat)
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 c clamato juice
(or homemade clamato)
Serving Ingredients:
16 Tostadas (or a bag of tortilla chips)
Hot Sauce
Instructions:
SHRIMP: Dice shrimp and place into a large glass bowl. Squeeze 1 to 1 1/4 cups lime juice from 6 limes over shrimp. Stir to combine then cover and marinate in the refrigerator (2+ hours for raw shrimp 15 minutes for cooked shrimp). Stir halfway through.
VEGGIES: Chop the vegetables: cucumber, avocado, tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and cilantro.
COMBINE: When shrimp are done marinating, add vegetables to the bowl.
Add 1/4 tsp black pepper or season to taste and gently stir to combine.
Lastly, stir in 1 cup clamato/ homemade juice (see below), mixing just to combine.
Serve with tortilla chips or over crisp tostadas.
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HOMEMADE CLAMATO:
2 cups tomato juice
½ cup clam juice* (optional)
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp celery salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
*Since there is already shrimp in the recipe, the clam juice is not required unless desired.
Combine ingredients and whisk.
Pasta alla Checca
Checca is a classic fresh pasta sauce sometimes served cold or made with marinated raw herbs and veggies. This one is cooked, but only slightly- it has a delightful fresh flavor. Since the cooking time is minimal, this makes a great recipe for summer. And it comes directly from Rome! We found this recipe from Jacqui at the-pasta-project.com.
Pasta alla Checca can be topped with Burrata- a soft Italian cheese made with cream. Since Burrata is near impossible to find, you can certainly top with riccota, mozzarella or Parmesan- or go cheeseless.
Ingredients:
14oz spaghetti
14oz tomatoes
3.5oz pitted olives (optional)*
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 handful fresh basil
1 handful fresh parsley
3-4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Burrata, ricotta, mozzarella or Parmesan cheese to top.
Salt for pasta and to taste.
Freshly ground pepper to taste.
*To prepare a more local version, replace the olives with some minced garlic and perhaps a little onion.
Instructions:
Cut the tomatoes into cubes and leave them in a colander to naturally lose some of their water.
Chop the parsley and tear the basil leaves into pieces. Roughly chop the pitted olives.
Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Let it heat gently, over a very low heat for about a minute. Add a tablespoon of chopped parsley, 4-5 chopped basil leaves and a pinch of fennel seeds and the olives or garlic.
After 1 minute, add the chopped tomatoes to the mixture.
Stir, season with salt, cover and cook slowly, over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and season with a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Add some more chopped fresh parsley and basil. Let the sauce rest while you cook the pasta.
Cook al dente according to the instructions. Drain, then immediately add to sauce.
To plate, turn the pasta alla checca out into a serving bowl, being sure to include enough sauce. Top with your choice of cheese, if desired. Sprinkle with more fresh parsley and basil and perhaps a light grind of pepper. Serve immediately!