Five recipes to keep enjoying tomatoes

A good option to enjoy tomatoes is to bake them. Thus, they can be eaten both as a main dish, as an appetizer or, if you prefer, as a side dish. Plus, if you’re going without cheese when making this recipe for four people, it’s also suitable for vegans.

baked tomatoes

—4 large tomatoes

-2 cloves garlic

—¼ mozzarella cheese or other to be melted

—½ cup finely chopped basil leaves

—Salt, pepper and olive oil

Preheat the oven to maximum power (or 250º). In a greased sausage dish, place the tomatoes cut in half and cut side up. Then finely chop the garlic and place it on the tomatoes. Then season with salt and pepper. Add the cheese and basil plus a very generous drizzle of olive oil on top. Bake in a strong oven for twenty-five minutes, until the cheese melts and melts with the tomatoes.

Candiing a food consists of cooking it in a fatty medium — such as oil — or sugar, but at a low temperature. The grace of this technique, and that for which it was originally used, is that it allows products to be preserved for much longer. But of course: in the age of refrigerators, it is no longer necessary to store things so that they do not spoil, even if we are not going to stop enjoying the creamy texture and flavor that they set when prepared in this way. Thus, candied tomatoes are more than recommended.

Tomato confit

—4 tomatoes, quartered

—1 onion, peeled and quartered

—1 whole head of garlic, halved (unpeeled)

—1 sprig of rosemary

—2 bay leaves

—10 black peppercorns

—Coarse salt and olive oil

Preheat the oven to the lowest heat (100º). Then, in a very deep dish, arrange the tomatoes with the onion plus the head of garlic, the rosemary and the bay leaf. Add the peppercorns and a good amount of coarse salt. Next, add olive oil until all the ingredients are covered, then bring the pan with the oven to low heat for an hour, or until the ingredients are very soft. Serve hot or cold. It can be spread on bread or even added to pizza. If there is any left, store it in an airtight jar, where it can keep for several days.

When the tomato is plentiful and it is also hot, nothing better than to prepare this recipe cold and energetic. We are talking about the stuffed tomato, which has several versions, all very tasty. This, although very simple and cheap, does not stop being tasty.

stuffed tomato

—1 large tomato

—½ cup cooked corn

—½ cup of tuna in water

—½ cup onion cut into small squares

—¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

—½ cup mayonnaise

—1 anchovy fillet

—Salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil

Cut off the top of the tomato then, using a spoon, scoop out all the flesh and put it in a bowl. Then add the corn, tuna, onion, cilantro and mayonnaise to the bowl. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Stir well and finally fill the tomato with this mixture, crowning it all with an anchovy fillet on top as a decoration. To give it a traditional touch, serve it on a bed of lettuce leaves.

Strictly speaking, the tomato is a fruit. Not quite sweet, but fruity nonetheless. And of course, with this flavor between sour and sweet, so rich, it is convenient if combined with other ingredients with these same characteristics. Here, an example.

Sweet and sour salad

—3 tomatoes

—3 radishes

—2 cooked beets

—1 grapefruit

—Salt, pepper and olive oil

Cut the tomato into thin slices and arrange them on a large plate. On top put the pre-cooked beets, also cut into thin slices. Add to all this the radishes cut into extremely thin slices, if possible with a mandolin, for maximum precision.

Then, peel a grapefruit and take a good number of segments, to arrange them above the other vegetables. Finally, squeeze the rest of the grapefruit over a well to extract the juice, add the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and dress the salad with this mixture.

Thanks to its exquisite lomo saltado, Peruvians have conquered palates in various parts of the world. Well, I’m sure we could do the same with our Super Tomato. Easy to make, quick and very, very tasty. Just dare. In the meantime, a recipe for six people.

Tomatican

—600 grams of beef seat

-1 onion

—8 ripe tomatoes

—2 cooked corn

-2 cloves garlic

—Salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, coriander and olive oil

Cut the onion into feathers and sauté over low heat with a pinch of salt in a pan with olive oil. In parallel, cut the meat into small cubes and add it to the pan with a little salt. Crush the garlic cloves with a knife and add them too. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes and cut them into small cubes, removing most of their seeds but without losing their juice. Add them to the pan, put a little more salt, mix and continue cooking over low heat. Using a knife, remove the already cooked corn kernels from the crowns and add them to the pan. Season with pepper, cumin and oregano. Mix well and cook until corn is hot. If necessary, rectify the point of salt and serve with a little chopped coriander on top.

*Prices for products in this item are updated as of February 28, 2023. Values ​​and availability may change.