Tomatoes – Eat On Edgecliff

Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil

Basil, Garlic, Main Dishes, Parmesan, Pasta, Tomatoes

The Silver Palate Cookbook

THE classic late summer dinner. Good tomatoes and fresh basil are musts. I definitely don’t use a full cup of olive oil – just enough to cover the tomatoes and any kind of pasta is fine. It’s best to make in the morning and let it sit on the counter all day. We have been making this forever as have my parents – it’s prob my Dad’s favorite thing to make. I just looked and the Silver Palate cookbook is 44 years old. It’s a classic. Here’s a link for a nice story about the cookbook.

Ingredients

4 large ripe tomatoes , cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound Brie , rind removed, torn into irregular pieces
1 cup fresh basil leaves , rinsed, patted dry and cut into strips
3 cloves garlic , peeled and finely minced
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. best-quality olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt , plus additional to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds linguine
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese , for garnish (optional)

Directions

At least 2 hours before serving, combine the tomatoes, Brie, basil, garlic, the 1 cup olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Bring 6 quarts salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the linguine, and boil until tender but still firm, 8 to 10 minutes.

Drain the pasta and immediately toss with the tomato sauce. Serve at once, passing the peppermill, and the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if you like.

Zucchini Casserole

Garlic, Onion, Parmesan, Side Dish, Tomatoes, Zucchini

A family standby

1 onion, sliced in rings
1 garlic clove, peeled and diced finely
1 large can tomatoes
1 t. oregano
1 T. vinegar
salt and pepper

Simmer above for 15 minutes or so.

Slice 2 lbs. zucchini. Lay in a buttered baking dish. Pour sauce over.

Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

Sprinkle parmesan on top for last 15 minutes.

Smoked Sausage Cassoulet – slow cooker

Beans, Main Dishes, Onion, Pork, Sausage, Tomatoes

We have been making this for many years. It is from an old weight watchers slow cooker cookbook that is falling apart – so thought I better put it on here. We don’t follow the recipe directions at all so I won’t even include them here. Just throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning and let it go at its lowest setting all day… et voila, le dîner est servi.

1 lb pork loin cut up into 1 inch cubes. Boneless pork chops work just fine
2 cups onion chopped pretty fine
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 garlic cloves minced fine
1 teaspoon salt
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
2 14 oz cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained – if you have time cooked dried beans are always better
1/2 lb smoked sausage cut itnto 1/2 inch pieces – we pretty much always use Slovenians which I highly reccomend

Sprinkle each serving w a bit of parmesan, ground pepper and fresh parsley if you have some.

Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard and Garlic

Garlic, Lentils, Sausage, Soup, Spinach, Tomatoes

Kathryn Purcell via Gina Depalma via Secrets of the Best Chefs

SERVINGS: 6 TIME: ABOUT 1 hour

This soup is hearty and so good! It freezes well. You could easily make it vegetarian by skipping the sausage. And you could make it vegan by not using the sausage and romano cheese.

*8 ounces of sausage meat is roughly 2 links. I have used up to 4. Use as much or as little as you choose.

*I tend to use spinach instead of Chard.

lentil soup with sausage, chard and garlic

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

2 large links (about 8 ounces) of sweet Italian sausage [see Note] 1 medium onion, diced

2 celery ribs, sliced or diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons or diced

4 cloves garlic, sliced (reserve half for later in recipe)

Kosher salt

A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed

2 bay leaves

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

6 cups water

Freshly ground black pepper

3 to 4 cups shredded or thinly ribboned Swiss chard leaves or kale Grated Pecorino Romano cheese to finish

On the stove: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to generously coat bottom of pot) in a large pot on medium to medium-high heat. When hot, add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown, about five minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots, first two garlic cloves, a pinch of salt, and if you like your soup spicy, a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook with the sausage until the vegetables soften a bit, another 5 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water (6 cups is, conveniently, a little less than 2 empty 28-ounce cans, so you can get any tomato pulp you missed), more salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. (It might be necessary to add more water if the soup gets too thick, though we preferred ours on the thick side.)

When the lentils are cooked, add the chard and cook until the leaves are tender, just a few minutes more. Discard the bay leaves.

In an InstantPot or electric multicooker: Proceed as written above, using the sauté function on high (I find this to be like medium-high on a stove) to cook the sausage and then vegetables. Once you’ve added the remaining ingredients, including dried lentils, lock the lid and set to high pressure for 15 minutes. Let it naturally release for at least 10 minutes (or longer, if you have time), to help keep the vegetables intact. You can manually release the rest. Use the sauté function on high again to bring it back to a simmer (this should be take no time at all) and add the greens; cook until wilted.

Both methods: To finish, divide soup among bowls, then add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 garlic cloves to a small skillet (on the stove) and heat over medium until the garlic softens and hisses. Drizzle this over soup bowls, and top with fresh Romano, passing more at the table. Leftovers will keep for several days in the fridge.

Aegean Chicken

Artichoke, Chicken, Garlic, Main Dishes, Olive, Tomatoes

Kathryn Purcell via Lisa Damour

PJH: I made this w boneless chicken breasts – just browned them first with no flour, used fresh mushrooms and kalamata olives. Was very good… maybe try boneless thighs next time.

2 whole chicken breasts

flour to dredge chicken

9 oz can of marinated artichoke hearts, liquid reserved

one can of sliced mushrooms, drained

14 oz can of chopped tomatoes and its liquid

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 t salt

¾ t oregano

1 t dried dried basil

¾ t black pepper

¾ cup straight Sherry

½ cup pitted black olives (optional)

Directions

Cut the chicken into 2-3 inch pieces and dredge in the flour. Saute in liquid reserved from artichoke hearts until lightly browned. Add the artichokes, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings, simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the Sherry and simmer 5-10 minutes more. Add olives and simmer till heated through. Serve over any type of pasta or polenta.

Pepper Steak

Beef, Garlic, Green Pepper, Main Dishes, Rice, Soy Sauce, Tomatoes

A summer classic when the tomatoes are prime

Pepper Steak

Linda Holzheimer

3 T. oil
1 1/2 lbs flank or round steak cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt
dash pepper
1/4 t. ginger
1/4 t. sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 green peppers cut into large chunks
1 lb. fresh bean sprouts
1 medium onion, sliced
4 medium sized tomatoes, quartered
2 T. cornstarch
1 c. beef broth

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan. Add meat, garlic, salt, pepper, ginger and sugar; stir-fry until beef is no longer pink. Move meat from center of skillet; add soy sauce, green pepper and onion. Cook, covered about 3 minutes. Move food from center of wok and add tomatoes and bean sprouts; cook 3 more minutes. Make a smooth mixture of cornstarch and broth; add to hot mixture. Stir gently until thickened. Service over hot white rice.

BLT

Bacon, lettuce, Main Dishes, Tomatoes

BLTs are always good. But BLTs in the summertime are awesome.

Tomatoes are the most important part and the tomatoes from our garden were perfect.

Lots of mayo and lightly toasted Italian bread and…

add some chilled Rose and you have your perfect late August dinner

Tomato Jam

Appetizer, Tomatoes

Our supply of tomatoes continues to occupy our kitchen window sill. A friend at work gave me this recipe after we discussing all the different things we do with tomatoes. It’s a nice easy way to use up the smaller ones that seem to be all that is left now…and is also very tasty.

Tomato Jam

Meg Guncik – who got from New York Times

1 ½ lb good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped.

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 Tbsp fresh grated or minced ginger

1 tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. salt

1 jalapeno or other pepper(s), stemmed, seeded and minced (or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste)

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, @ 1 hour, 15 minutes.

3. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep at least a week.

Meg’s notes:

My Roma tomatoes were so small, I didn’t bother to core them, but I did coarsely chop them.

I usually double this recipe and end up with 2-3 small/medium sized jars.

If you want, after cooking for the hour and 15 min, you can run the mixture through a strainer to get rid of any skins and/or cores. I did not do that – I used an immersion blender and made it smooth that way.

A few times, I needed to cook it longer to continue to reduce it to the right thickness.

I think it keeps longer than a week. It’s very good on melba toast or water crackers -it’s not necessarily a breakfast-type jam.