I don’t know about you but when it comes to Summer, I want to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen over a hot stove. I much prefer quick, easy meals with lots of fresh ingredients. One of my favorites is tomatoes – they are the sweetest and most abundant during summer.
We’ve been going through a lot of tomatoes lately so I started buying them in bulk at Costco. I go for the vine ripened tomatoes – they are so fragrant and full of flavor.
Wanted to share 3 things I’ve been making on repeat using these tomatoes. You can substitute for whatever kind of tomato is your favorite. I also love grape tomatoes! Mmmmm! The great thing about these recipes is a lot of the ingredients are the same and you probably have them all. Yay for quick and easy!
Bruschetta
Tomatoes on bread – how easy is that?!? 🙂
Ingredients:
Chopped garlic
Chopped fresh tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Kosher Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Vinegar – Red Wine or Balsamic
Good quality bread
For this dish I chop up a bunch of tomatoes and mostly use the thicker flesh part and not so much the gooey inside stuff. (Do you like my technical terms here?)
I put them in a bowl with some fresh garlic gloves, olive oil, red wine or balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and torn fresh basil. Use however much you want for each – it’s totally up to your taste.
I toast up some good quality bread and top it with the bruschetta. My whole family loves this and I can never make enough!
The garlic is meant to flavor the tomatoes but not meant to be eaten. I smash the garlic glove with the back of my knife to release the juices and it breaks up into big pieces. I’m a total garlic lover but I feel like it overpowers the taste of the tomatoes if eaten raw. Another option would be to rub the toast with a clove of garlic to get more of a garlicky flavor without having to eat raw garlic. I’ve done both.
Pasta With Fresh Tomato Sauce
Another favorite is pasta with sauce. I make sauce very often but usually use whole peeled canned San Marzano tomatoes. In the summer when tomatoes are at their best I like to use fresh ones.
Ingredients:
Chopped onion (I always use Vidalia – 1/2 large)
Chopped garlic ( I usually use 3 big ones)
Chopped fresh tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Kosher Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Pasta
In a pan with olive oil I sautee sweet vidalia onions, garlic and tomatoes (all chopped). I chop up the tomatoes but this time use all of it including the gooey inside stuff as well as the juices that flow out when chopping. I season with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. When it’s just about done I mix in some torn fresh basil and mix the cooked pasta right into the pan. Our favorite shape is shells but you can use whatever you like best. Feel free to sprinkle on some fresh grated Parmesan cheese as well.
Fresh Tomato Suup
I know it’s summer and you probably thought I was going to say cold Gazpacho but I’m not a fan of cold soup – no matter how hot it is outside. I LOVE soup and can eat it all year round. Hot soup!!
This soup was inspired by the tomato soup I had a few years back when I was at a business retreat in Denver. I ate at a restaurant called The Kitchen Next Door. I was only in Denver for 2 nights and ate this soup 3 times!! Yes – that’s how good it is and I found out it’s really simple to make.
I recently had an urge for it so did a search to see if they had the recipe published. This is the one I found and have been using with slight modifications.
My modifications:
- I use a combo of butter and olive oil to cook the tomatoes
- I use fresh tomatoes
- I use half & half instead of heavy cream
- I don’t measure!
Try these easy recipes and let me know what you think.
What’s your favorite way to use fresh tomatoes?
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