GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: cherry tomato recipe

  • Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Polenta Recipe Video

    Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Polenta Recipe Video

    When you buy too many of those cherry tomatoes at the big store, make this roasted cherry tomatoes and polenta recipe. This recipe takes tired, older cherry tomatoes and concentrates their flavor, drop them on top of a quick pot of polenta, and you have dinner, or part of a big dinner.

    I had bought a large package of cherry tomatoes at the warehouse style food store, the place where you eyes get big and you want to buy lots of stuff because you think its all a good deal, except that you have to cook it all. I have found that buying dried fruits and nuts at the warehouse store is a good deal. I keep them in zipper storage bags and put the nuts in the fridge, they last longer that way.

    The tomatoes sat on the counter for a week – don’t keep them in the fridge – and started to get soft and a bit wrinkled. I cut them in half, put them in an oiled pan, and sprinkled the magic ingredients over them, olive oil and salt. In the oven for 20-30 min, and out come something completely different that what went in there.

    roasted cherry tomato recipe

    The polenta is based on our quick stovetop polenta recipe, using the secret ingredient to cook the polenta faster. Add in some butter, and its a brilliant dish.

    You can top the cherry tomatoes with dried oregano or a mix of italian seasonings, it makes them that much better with little effort. I like to buy the larger container of italian seasoning, it goes on top of lots of foods in our house. Don’t use the best olive oil you have for this, as it is heated, so any subtle flavors are out the window. Use fine salt, not the course kind, as some salt might remain, and not everyone likes to bite down on chunks of salt, ok?

    Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Polenta Recipe Video
    Author: Eric Rochow
    Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Total time:
    Smart use of cherry tomatoes that are getting a bit old on the countertop. This transforms them into a new delicious thing.
    Ingredients
    • 1 package of cherry tomatoes
    • Olive Oil
    • Fine Salt
    • Dried Italian Seasoning Herb mix or Oregano
    • 1 batch of stovetop or microwave polenta, link is above
    • Hard cheese like Romano or Parmesan
    Instructions
    1. Slice all the cherry tomatoes in half.
    2. Place them in a lined and/or oiled sheet pan, ideally they will fill up tray.
    3. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and seasonings on tomatoes.
    4. Roast for 20-40 minutes at 425F. Keep an eye on them.
    5. Cook a batch of the stove top or microwave polenta.
    6. When the tomatoes are oozing liquid and starting to collapse, they are done.
    7. Spoon polenta into serving bowls and top with tomatoes.
    8. You can drizzle more olive oil over the dish.
    9. Grate cheese over top.

     

  • Cherry Tomato Recipe: Make Pesto! – GF Video

    Cherry Tomato Recipe: Make Pesto! – GF Video

    A cherry tomato recipe that is a new one to me: Cherry Tomato Pesto. I heard about this from Lidia Bastianich, who was interviewed on ATK Radio and mentioned it. I was surprised at how well it turned out, never had I thought of making pesto this way before. What fun to have a new and unique cherry tomato recipe just in time for the tomato overflow from the garden.

    Another interesting ingredient in this pesto recipe is the use of almonds, which i had not thought of before but now seems so obvious. One thing I did learn while working on this recipe was that the almonds need to be ground up in the food processor before adding in the rest of the ingredients. Just dumping them in with the tomatoes doesn’t work, as the almonds are still pretty chunky when the rest of the ingredients have been mixed together.

    Basil does play a role here, but you could also use parsley, both work well when paired with tomato. I imagine you have both growing in your garden somewhere near the cherry tomatoes, do a mix of the two if you like.

    And do not use cheap olive oil for a pesto recipe, use the best you can get, or almost the best. There are a lot of adulterated olive oils out there, you can check out Truth In Olive Oil for a list of good olive oils you can buy in your area.

    cherry-tomato-recipe-make-pesto-1

    Not your usual Cherry Tomato Recipe

    Cherry Tomato Pesto Recipe  based on Lidia Bastianich’s recipe

    • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, not the super sweet kind, a mix is good.
    • 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, buy a wedge and grate it yourself
    • Approx 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 3/4 cup raw almonds, not salted or roasted, but you could use the salt-roast kind in a pinch
    • 1 medium clove of garlic, smashed or minced
    • 1 small handful of basil leaves and young stems
    1. Mince of smash the garlic and let it sit out while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
    2. Put the almonds in a dry saute pan on the stove, and toast lightly. Be careful not to burn them. The almonds will click when its time to turn them.
    3. Grate the Pecorino Romano cheese with the large holes of a box grater.
    4. Pull the basil leaves and young stems from the woody older stems.
    5. Put the toasted almonds in the food process and break them down to small chunks and some powder
    6. Add the cherry tomatoes, cheese, garlic, basil.
    7. Turn on the food processor and mix this all together, be careful not to over process, you want this to have some texture.
    8. Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the food processor as it mixed the ingredients together. The pesto will thicken a bit.
    9. Test for salt, it may or may not need some.

    Do you have a favorite cherry tomato recipe? Let us know below!

     

  • Roast Cherry Tomato Pasta Recipe GF TV Video

    Roast Cherry Tomato Pasta Recipe GF TV Video

    Easy Cherry Tomato Recipe served over pasta, rice, or quinoa. Here’s a recipe for all those ripe cherry tomatoes in your garden. Roast the tomatoes with some garlic and the like, and its amazing.

    My friend Bill gave me this cherry tomato recipe; he’s been making it a few times a week. Its a great midweek dinner, or weekday dinner recipe, super simple.

    I make this with all yellow tomatoes, but you can ‘ use what you got ‘ cause that’s the GardenFork way, after all. The yellow cherry tomatoes have  lower acid content, and are sweeter, I think, than red cherry tomatoes, but that’s just my opinion.

    If you have a recipe for cherry tomatoes, please share it with us below, be great to hear from you.

    Roast Cherry Tomato Pasta Recipe
    Recipe Type: Pasta
    Cuisine: Italian
    Author: Eric Rochow
    Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Total time:
    Serves: 4
    Cherry Tomato Pasta recipe to deal with all the tomatoes you have in the garden.
    Ingredients
    • 2 pints cherry tomatoes
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 4 large cloves, coarsley chopped garlic
    • 1 cup oil cured black olives – optional
    • 1 cup cubed feta cheese
    • 1 lb pasta, preferably whole wheat
    Instructions
    1. pints cherry tomatoes
    2. /4 cup olive oil
    3. large cloves, coarsley chopped garlic
    4. cup oil cured black olives – optional
    5. cup cubed feta cheese
    6. lb pasta, preferably whole wheat
    7. Cooking Directions
    8. Preheat the oven to 375F
    9. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes. arrange the tomatoes in one layer in a 9 x 13 pan.
    10. Coat with the olive oil and distribute chopped garlic over tomatoes.
    11. Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cherry tomatoes start to burst and brown slightly.
    12. If using black olives or feta cheese, add these after tomatoes are roasted.
    13. Cook pasta while tomatoes are roasting. Drain cooked pasta and divide between 4 bowls.
    14. Pour roast tomato mixture over the pasta.