Besides all the recipes, with all our excess, we’d just dunk 'em in boiling water to peel, stick 'em in plastic bags, and just freeze 'em (Sometimes I seed 'em, sometimes I don’t). There is no such thing as having an oversupply of tomatoes in this house. They will get used up eventually.
Thanks all! These are great. I may try every single one of them.
As for the co-worker thingy-- you guys were right. At my old job people would bring in tomatoes and they would go bad in the breakroom. My new job-- well, I got requests. I was slicing one to put on a sandwich and the smell bought 3 people over.
Baked tomatoes and good hardrolls.
I bring both tomatoes and squash to work (our French zucchini volunteer produced 80 fruit, at least, so far) and they are gone within minutes. In the Bay Area it seems a lot of people had trouble growing tomatoes this year, though ours are great.
Besides the other ideas, we slice them, put some oil and breadcrumbs on them, and bake them for a while.
One great dish is as simple as can be. Lay alternating slices of tomato and fresh mozzerella on a plate, toss on a dash of salt and some chopped fresh parsley, drizzle some olive oil over the top.
Slice about 1/2" thick, salt (and whatever else you like) liberally, sprinkle with sliced garlic, and drizzle very liberally with good olive oil. Arrange so they overlap at the edges, and bake at about 300 F for an hour or two, until the tomato juices have been replaced with the oil. Mmmmm … roasted tomato slices. Also, the oil in the pan takes on a lovely tomato flavor and makes a great salad dressing base.
I need to grow tomatoes next year so I can make these oven-roasted tomatoes you’re all talking about!
To use up a few of the big tomatoes, I recommend stuffed tomatoes. Here’s how I do it, but it’s pretty flexible.
Have you seen those plastic containers of little mini-mozzarellas in the deli section of the supermarket? They’re each about the size of a cherry tomato.
Drain them out of the watery whey they’re suspended in, mix them with tomatoes diced into roughly the size of the cheeses, and then add minced garlic, white wine vinegar, and gobs of good olive oil. Chopped basil and a little cayenne pepper, too. It makes a gorgeous red, white and green main dish salad.
Could you give them to a food pantry or soup kitchen? Leave them in a basket on the church doorstep? Put them on a card table in front of your house with an ‘honor box’ - or if you really want them to disappear fast, a sign saying “free”.
I just threw together a pasta dish on the fly this evening.
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Fresh basil, chiffonade
Grated parmesan
Two strips of bacon, cut across the strip into small pieces
olive oil and butter
Crushed red pepper flakes
Spaghetti
Put on a pot of water for the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a small skillet at medium, add the pepper flakes and bacon. Saute until the bacon is done and remove from the heat. Remove the bacon to a plate, but reserve the fat.
Place tomato halves, basil, bacon and cheese in a pasta bowl. Drain the pasta when done, return to the pan and toss with the fat/pepper flake mixture. Place pasta on top of the other ingredients and toss together with a fork.
It was pretty damn tasty.
Once you’re done with all the food recipes, take the overripe tomatoes and throw them at people.
::d&r::
Tomato sandwiches. I’ve lost count how many my boyfriend and I have eaten this summer, but we’re not complaining! Take some soft white Italian bread (I also like the 3-cheese miche from Panera,) spread one side with a good amount of mayo. Add sliced tomatoes, and sprinkle a nice amount of salt (or “crack”, as my boyfriend likes to say reflecting the addictiveness of the sandwiches.) There’s something about the combination of the salt, acidity of the tomatoes, and mayo that makes for an awesome combination and one of the best sandwiches ever. It’s at it’s best when you can use fresh, home-grown tomatoes!
I’ve made this cheesy tomato-bacon pie, and it was good. (I hope you don’t have to log in; let me know and I’ll see if I can repost somehow.) I used a regular Pillsbury crust (available in the refrigerated section by the cookie dough) instead of making a real crust, because I’m pants at crust making. I remember it being a little watery and definitely on the greasy side, so next time I’d use less mayo and see if there was a better way to drain the tomatoes. It seems there are a bunch of tomato pie recipes out there, so maybe search for a similar one? This one seems similar, and might be less greasy.