Ok, so with my brother in town I fell behind on posts. What can I say? We went out to eat. :) It's nice to go out once in awhile. :) While he was here, I did make one cherry tomato recipe: Insalata Caprese (aka Insalata Tricolore). It's not the usual version, so I hope you enjoy! :)
15 cherry tomatoes from the garden, cut into halves
6 oz. fresh buffalo mozzarella cut into 1 cm x 1 cm cubes
3 sprigs shredded fresh organic pesto basil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
dash sea salt
dash ground pepper
Mix tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, 1/2 the olive oil, and balsamic vinegar until mixture is evenly coated and mozzarella has taken on a slightly darker, uniform color. Drain excess balsamic. Stir in remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Chill for 20 minutes and serve. Serves 2-3.
Yum!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
New Twist on an Old Favorite
Recipe number two for today is a summertime version of one of my favorite dishes: Sicilian Caponata. Caponata is an eggplant relish with a sweet and sour flavor, but has a heavy flavor that makes it better for evenings or fall and spring meals. To modify this old favorite for the summertime, I've switched out purple eggplant for the sweeter, less intense white eggplant and used fresh tomatillos and cherry tomatoes instead of canned diced roma tomatoes. For some added freshness, I've used orange bell pepper as well. Enjoy!
2 small organic white eggplants
1 organic orange bell pepper
2 small celery stalks
2 small organic tomatillos
15 small homegrown cherry tomatoes
1/3 medium organic red onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
12 raisins or sultanas
1 1/2 tsp. caper berries
1 tsp. turbinado sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
dash of sea salt
dash of fresh ground black tellicherry pepper
Soak caper berries and raisins or sultanas in balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Chop eggplant, pepper, tomatillos, celery and onion into bite-sized chunks. In frying pan, heat 1/3 of the olive oil, onions, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper until onions are soft. Add in eggplant and 1/2 of the remaining olive oil. Cover and let cook on medium heat until eggplant skin has taken on some color. Add in cherry tomatoes and tomatillos. Recover and cook until cherry tomatoes are starting to pop. Add in balsamic vinegar, remaining olive oil, sugar and pepper. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add in sulatanas or raisins and caper berries, cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve as dip, spread, hot salad, or use as a stuffing for chicken or turkey. :) Serves 2-4. :)
Yum! :)
2 small organic white eggplants
1 organic orange bell pepper
2 small celery stalks
2 small organic tomatillos
15 small homegrown cherry tomatoes
1/3 medium organic red onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
12 raisins or sultanas
1 1/2 tsp. caper berries
1 tsp. turbinado sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
dash of sea salt
dash of fresh ground black tellicherry pepper
Soak caper berries and raisins or sultanas in balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Chop eggplant, pepper, tomatillos, celery and onion into bite-sized chunks. In frying pan, heat 1/3 of the olive oil, onions, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper until onions are soft. Add in eggplant and 1/2 of the remaining olive oil. Cover and let cook on medium heat until eggplant skin has taken on some color. Add in cherry tomatoes and tomatillos. Recover and cook until cherry tomatoes are starting to pop. Add in balsamic vinegar, remaining olive oil, sugar and pepper. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add in sulatanas or raisins and caper berries, cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve as dip, spread, hot salad, or use as a stuffing for chicken or turkey. :) Serves 2-4. :)
Yum! :)
Temporary hiatus...
Yesterday I took a vacation from cherry tomatoes at the behest of my husband- we went to his favorite burger joint and split a burger and homemade root beer. I can't complain in the least. :) With that in mind, I'm putting two recipes up today. :)
The first recipe is simple, and quite convenient for those of you that don't want to pay through the nose for sun-dried tomatoes and have a wonderful cherry tomato plant at home.
Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
The most vitamin C in the tomato is actually found in the gelatinous casing around the seed. In addition, many of the nutrients in tomatoes, such as lycopene, are made more bio-available by cooking. The following recipe keeps both of these facts in mind.
36 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh parsely
2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh genovese basil
In medium size bowl mix all ingredients. Let tomatoes marinade covered and at room temperature for 2 hours.
Place marinated tomatoes on baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Place in oven. Turn oven on to 200 Farenheit and bake tomatoes for 10-12 hours or until dry. The best way to do this is to start the recipe after dinner and let the tomatoes bake overnight. :) When you take them out of the oven, let the cool and then refrigerate until use. :) They have twice the flavor of store-bought sundrieds and make a great addition to salads, meats, pastas, sauces, and tons of other yummy foods. :)
Enjoy!
The first recipe is simple, and quite convenient for those of you that don't want to pay through the nose for sun-dried tomatoes and have a wonderful cherry tomato plant at home.
Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
The most vitamin C in the tomato is actually found in the gelatinous casing around the seed. In addition, many of the nutrients in tomatoes, such as lycopene, are made more bio-available by cooking. The following recipe keeps both of these facts in mind.
36 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh parsely
2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh genovese basil
In medium size bowl mix all ingredients. Let tomatoes marinade covered and at room temperature for 2 hours.
Place marinated tomatoes on baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Place in oven. Turn oven on to 200 Farenheit and bake tomatoes for 10-12 hours or until dry. The best way to do this is to start the recipe after dinner and let the tomatoes bake overnight. :) When you take them out of the oven, let the cool and then refrigerate until use. :) They have twice the flavor of store-bought sundrieds and make a great addition to salads, meats, pastas, sauces, and tons of other yummy foods. :)
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Not your mama's Bruschetta...
After a wonderful trip to a nearby farm where we picked fruit and basil, while hunting for the perfect veggies, we stumbled across a bag of delicious goodies- tomatillos. As a result, we decided to continue the west-Mex theme, and invited our cherry tomato's cousins to join the party tonight. Tomatillo is taking the lead for this unconventional, and yet still fabulously delish bruschetta, and since it's summer, we're grilling the bread in the backyard. We still snuck in those cherry tomatoes, though!
1 french baguette, cut into 1/2 slices
1/4 cup diced organic red onion
4 sprigs fresh organic genovese basil
2 large diced organic tomatillos (green variety, de-husked)
9 medium-sized quartered homegrown cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 dash sea salt
1 dash black pepper
In medium frying pan, combine onion, garlic, tomatillo, and 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Stir until onion, garlic, and tomatillo are lightly coated in olive oil. Heat until tomatillo flesh has turned from white to light green, or is softer in texture. Remove from heat and cool.
Finely mince basil. In a medium bowl mix basil, salt, and pepper with tomatoes. Add the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar until mixture is evenly coated.
Combine all ingredients in the frying pan that was used to cook the tomatillos, onion, and garlic (making sure that the heat is off).
Cool mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes, and heat up your grill.
Brush baguette slices lightly with olive oil and place on the grill until lightly toasted. Cover with bruschetta mixture and serve. :)
1 french baguette, cut into 1/2 slices
1/4 cup diced organic red onion
4 sprigs fresh organic genovese basil
2 large diced organic tomatillos (green variety, de-husked)
9 medium-sized quartered homegrown cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 dash sea salt
1 dash black pepper
In medium frying pan, combine onion, garlic, tomatillo, and 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Stir until onion, garlic, and tomatillo are lightly coated in olive oil. Heat until tomatillo flesh has turned from white to light green, or is softer in texture. Remove from heat and cool.
Finely mince basil. In a medium bowl mix basil, salt, and pepper with tomatoes. Add the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar until mixture is evenly coated.
Combine all ingredients in the frying pan that was used to cook the tomatillos, onion, and garlic (making sure that the heat is off).
Cool mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes, and heat up your grill.
Brush baguette slices lightly with olive oil and place on the grill until lightly toasted. Cover with bruschetta mixture and serve. :)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Chorizo con papas y jitomate (a little west-Mex fun...)
We were in the mood for a tongue-scorching and flavorful experience, so today's lunch involved a little west-Mex kick. I hope you like it! A word on substitutions - do NOT sub green pepper for the orange bell pepper. Red would work, but green will change the flavor. Feel free to swap the beef chorizo for veggie chorizo, however.
1 large local beef chorizo link, chopped into 1/4" slices
1 diced organic orange bell pepper
4 sprigs of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/3 cup of water
1/4 cup diced red onion
10-20 fresh cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1/4 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil and herb marinade
1/3 cup of your favorite salsa (I use Salsa 505 - organic and yummy)
2 small cubed potatoes (preferrably red skin or large swedish peanut fingerlings)
1/2 cup Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, grated
1 1/2 key limes
In large frying pan, combine bell pepper, water, onion, cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, salsa and water. Cover and cook over medium heat until mixture starts to boil. Add potatoes, cover, and reduce heat. Once the liquid has begun to form a sauce, add chorizo and cheese, stirring until cheese melts into the sauce. Cover and cook until sauce is nearly uniform in texture. Add half of the cilantro, and stir. Remove from heat, serve, and garnish with remaining cilantro and 1/2 key lime per person. Serves 3.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Cherry Tomato Collapsed Lasagna
No pictures this time, folks. It's not a pretty dish, but it's comfort food. :)
3 sheets parboiled lasagna
12 small cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. organic tomato sauce
1/2 cup champagne or other sweet white wine
5 sprigs organic fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh wild mushrooms (or reconstituted freeze-dried wild mushrooms)
1 cup fresh ricotta
Heat oven to 350 Farenheit.
In sauce pan over medium heat combine cherry tomatoes, basil, onion, mushrooms, champagne and tomato sauce. Heat until reduced by 1/3. In small baking dish, crumble and crack lasagna sheets. Mix in the sauce. Cover mixture with ricotta and bake for 20-25 minutes or until pasta is soft.
*Pasta may clump. If you prefer, layer like a normal lasagna instead. :) Yum!
3 sheets parboiled lasagna
12 small cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. organic tomato sauce
1/2 cup champagne or other sweet white wine
5 sprigs organic fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh wild mushrooms (or reconstituted freeze-dried wild mushrooms)
1 cup fresh ricotta
Heat oven to 350 Farenheit.
In sauce pan over medium heat combine cherry tomatoes, basil, onion, mushrooms, champagne and tomato sauce. Heat until reduced by 1/3. In small baking dish, crumble and crack lasagna sheets. Mix in the sauce. Cover mixture with ricotta and bake for 20-25 minutes or until pasta is soft.
*Pasta may clump. If you prefer, layer like a normal lasagna instead. :) Yum!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
And so it begins...
The great tomato adventure is under way. The following recipe has been provided for your palate's pleasure, although I make no promises. :) Enjoy!
Barramundi In Tomato-Basil Sauce
1 filet of wild-caught barramundi (preferrably fresh, although I had to use frozen...)
8 or 9 small cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden
1/2 cup organic tomato-basil pasta sauce
2 1/2 large sprigs of fresh organic basil
4 julienne strips of sun-dried tomato (marinated in olive oil and garden herbs)
1/3 cup vermouth
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp grated romano
Prep work (This sauce also goes well with mussels): In a small sauce pan, combine tomato sauce, water and vermouth. Reduce over medium heat until 1/2 of the mixture remains. Chill for 20 minutes in the fridge. Combine mixture with olive oil and sundried tomatoes.
Heat your oven to 350 Farenheit. In a small roasting pan, place the barramundi and cover with the pre-made sauce. Add fresh cherry tomatoes to the mix. If they are on the larger side, cut them in half. Cover in basil sprigs and spinkle romano over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until fish seperates easily when pressed with a fork.
Cool for 2-3 minutes before serving. Serves 1-2. :)
Yum! Enjoy! :)
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