Once a month, I cook for my in-laws. I make them whatever they ask for. My FIL has requested stewed tomatoes next week, and I don’t know how to make them. He even brought me two cans of tomatoes to use, so apparently, he wants canned tomatoes. It’s a good thing, too, as fresh are very pricey this time of year.
Anyway, my MIL said “Just put them in a pan and heat them up” and my FIL said “No, my mother always put bread in them” to which my MIL said “Yeah, just put in some chunks of bread and stuff, too”
So, Dopers, give me nice, simple recipes for stewed tomatoes with bread in them.
(2) Dump in a can or two of stewed tomatoes. Heat and mix with the bacon and the bacon grease.
(3) Serve over white rice.
It’s more of a tomato gravy. I’m sure you could throw some chunks of bread in there and make it lumpier - but the bacon is key to make it taste killer.
Dr. Who, my mom always put bacon in her stewed tomatoes; my MIL said something about dumping in some cream, but didn’t say anything about bacon. But I warned them right up front that I’ve never made stewed tomatoes before.
I’ll be honest - Cream? Bread? Sounds bizarre to me when I’m thinking about stewed tomatoes. Seriously, who are you gonna believe? Your mom and some random dude on an internet messageboard? Or your in-laws? I thought so.
For what it’s worth, I checked a couple of cookbooks - and none of them mention the above ingredients. The Joy recommends cooking the tomatoes with a little olive oil or butter, shredded fresh parsley or basil, and salt & pepper. As an option, it says that you can put grated cheese over the top.
Even that sounds bizarre to me. As for your inlaws, I think they are thinking about some type of sauce rather than just plain ol’ stewed tomatoes.
Note: this is baked in the oven, not on a stovetop, and this gives it an intense flavor
2 16oz cans of Italian tomatoes
(These are the pear-shaped ones, more fleshy)
Put them in a baking pan or dish
Sprinkle liberally with thyme, fresh great, but dried OK
A good pinch each of salt and black pepper
Add a teaspoon of sugar, tempers the acidity
For some added depth, you could also add a splash of good red wine
Stir around in the pan
Bake for 20 min in a 300 degree oven
Check for taste
Then top with dried breadcrumbs
Bake another 5-10 minutes
You could also use rosemary, basil, or Herbes De Provence for seasoning.
This goes really well at breakfast/brunch as a side to scrambled eggs or omelets.
Note: You bake the tomatoes first to reduce the water. Adding the breadcrumbs after the initial baking prevents them from being too soggy. I’ve never used chunks of bread, but that could be tasty. Just add them late in the baking.
I remember the stewed tomatoes we sometimes had on the menu in our school cafeteria. I think they were always paired up with Macaroni and Cheese for some reason. But if I remember correctly, they just seemed to be canned tomatoes with little bits of celery that they ladled out of an instututional sized stockpot. So I assume they sauteed some celery, added giant cans of whole tomatoes with juice and literally stewed them on a stovetop for a few hours. They were always a little bit sweet, but I can’t honestly say whether that sweetness was attained through natural reduction or if sugar was added.
Tomatoes, bread…hmm. Random thought: Would something like this work?
Simmer your tomatoes (I hope they’re in reasonable-size chunks) with Italian-ish herbs.
Braise some braising greens with garlic, salt, pepper, and a bunch of butter or olive oil.
For each person, get a thick slice of chewy Italian or French bread. Coat on both sides with butter or olive oil and grill over a wood fire (if possible) or toast.
For each person, get a soup plate. Put the grilled bread in the middle of the plate and surround with the braised greens. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the stewed tomatoes (so you don’t get too much liquid) and mound on top of the bread. Top with, I dunno, some shrimp sauteed in butter & garlic, or maybe some braised pork belly. (Or would a poached egg maybe work?) Garnish with flat-leaf parsley.
I’m sure that would work for an updated version of stewed tomatoes, but her FIL is probably looking for some midwest comfort food. You’re basically suggesting an Italian Marinara or panzanella, which is similar, but not quite the same. Stewed tomatoes are an olde timey dish and very simple, and generally not herbed or spice strongly, if at all. I think it’s just some basic aromatics, celery and onion, and tomatoes stewed together just like the name implies. They are usually pretty sweet, too, so I believe sugar is a usual ingredient.
Back in the day, I think it was a popular way to use all of the canned tomatoes that people put up. Which if you’ve ever grown tomatoes, can be a substantial surplus. Also, this was when spaghetti was still an exotic and foreign dish, if unheard of, in middle America. So, people just ate the tomatoes and added some bread. True American stewed tomatoes are probably a descedent or precursor of Ketchup, rather than Italian Sauce.
I think they are probably going more for something like this:
Stewed Tomatoes with ‘Dumplings’
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup biscuit/baking mix
3 tablespoons milk
In a saucepan, combine the tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. In a bowl, combine the biscuit mix and milk. Drop batter in four mounds onto the tomatoes.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean (do not lift cover while simmering).
Well, thanks to this thread, I think I’m going to:
Fry up some bacon
Throw in the tomatoes
Let it simmer until a lot of the liquid is absorbed
Add a bit of sugar and maybe a few seasonings
Add some chunks of buttered bread.
I’m very much prepared for one or both of them to say something like “This isn’t what I was talking about!”, but I’m going to have to tell them, very nicely, that it’s my first attempt and they’ll have to forgive me. Then I’ll try and figure out, for future reference, what they think I should have done differently!
I saved the old thread below because the recipes sounded so good. Looks like the first recipe is the one you are looking for, but I’m sure bacon would make it even better.
Who knew the straightdope loved stewed tomatoes so much?
