3 Things to do with Ripe Tomatoes: Recipes to take advantage of

Good farmers! Here in Spain we are already more than halfway through summer and this means that the tomato picking season has begun. The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the vegetables that we find most in the orchards that we visit and one of the most popular in the kitchen.

Even if we put tomato in Google we find approximately 16,300,000 searches. In AGROHUERTO.COM you can find an article that I recommend you read GROWING TOMATOES IN THE ORGANIC GARDEN to plan future crops of this Solanaceae species.

History and types of tomatoes

You are right! The tomato, which is now one of the most common plants to start planting in a garden; It arrived in Europe at the hands of the Spanish conquerors almost V centuries ago! It may not seem so spectacular, but we are talking about something less than 500 years!

This fact meant a change in society since a plant was brought from «The New Continent» that gave a fruit similar to an apple and that grew easily in the Mediterranean climate.

But it did not get off to a good start, since at the end of the 16th century from Great Britain it was discovered that the tomato had toxic glycoalkaloids, which exist in the stem and leaves but not in the fruit. So it led to a ban on its consumption in Great Britain and its North American colonies.

However, during the 18th century, the consumption of the red fruit spread in the Queen’s lands and society was even encouraged to consume it daily. As far as Spain is concerned, as an anecdote, a tomato recipe book published in 1692 was found in Naples.

Properties and benefits of tomato

Currently…

…the tomato is one of the basic ingredients in the Mediterranean diet. Its consumption is recommended by nutritionists for having some of the following properties:

• Reduce the cholesterol
• fight infections
• Strengthens the immune system
• alleviate diabetes
• Intestinal transit regulator
• source of antioxidants
• Strengthens healthy skin

What can we do with ripe tomatoes from the garden?

Once harvested from the garden, the tomato is one of the most preserved fruits. This can lead to error, since we can store it for a while and after a few weeks find a catastrophe. That is why we give you today at Agrohuerto.com some ideas to be able to use those ripe tomatoes

1. Andalusian gazpacho

Ingredients

• 4 ripe tomatoes.
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 piece of onion, garlic clove size (very little).
• 1/2 Italian green pepper
• 1/4 red pepper (very little, less than green pepper).
• 2 thin slices of hard bread.
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon wine vinegar
• 2 glasses of cold water.
• Salt, to taste, it is advisable to add little by little

Preparation

1. Wash the tomatoes, cucumber and peppers
2. Peel the tomatoes, cut them into four parts and add them to the jar or blender glass where we are going to prepare the gazpacho.
3. Add the half green pepper and the piece of red pepper to the jar.
4. Peel the clove of garlic, remove the tail from the center and add it to the jar or glass of the blender.
5. Peel the cucumber and cut it into pieces, then add it along with the other vegetables.
6. Add the two slices of bread to the blender jar.
7. To finish, add the four tablespoons of olive oil, the half tablespoon of vinegar and a little salt.
8. We beat everything, once it is well beaten, we add the cold water and taste salt. (It is recommended to drink very cold)

2. Homemade tomato sauce

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 leek
• 1 green pepper
• 1 Carrot
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• Glass of white wine
• Laurel
• A sugar tablespoon
• Olive oil
• Salt
• White pepper
• Parsley

Preparation

1. Cut the garlic into slices, and, finely chopped the leek and onion, poach in a pan with two tablespoons of mild olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the green pepper and the diced carrot and then the grated tomatoes and the bay leaf, stir and fry over low heat.
3. When it has already been fried and changed color, add the glass of white wine and the tablespoon of sugar, let it reduce, approx. 20′-30′
4. Let cool and blend with a little vegetable broth until you get a smooth sauce, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

3. Salmorejo

Ingredients:

• 500 g of ripe tomatoes
• 100 g white bread (from the day before)
• 75g extra virgin olive oil
• 15g white vinegar
• 1 garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• To accompany, diced ham and chopped hard-boiled egg

Preparation

1. The tomatoes are washed very well, they are cored and chopped (with skin and all).
2. Cut the bread into small pieces (make sure the bread has crumbs).
3. Add the tomatoes, bread, garlic, salt and vinegar to the blender glass. We beat.
4. When everything is more or less integrated, we are pouring the olive oil little by little, and we continue beating until we get a thick cream (it may not need all the oil).
5. We taste and rectify salt and/or vinegar. Strain so that we have a very fine cream.
6. We reserve in the fridge to cool down and serve accompanied by pieces of ham and hard-boiled egg.

In case you have any questions, here is a video of how to make the salmorejo

Well, nothing agrohuertistas, I hope you taste some good dishes and we don’t throw away the ripe tomatoes.

A big hello!