New Jersey Tomatoes | culinary flights of fancy

Tomato season is almost at an end but if you are lucky, you can still find a few lingering green tomatoes at the market along with some very ripe red tomatoes. That combination is perfect for an end of season tomato salad to enjoy the last bit of summer and early fall before it gives way to colder weather and winter vegetables.

This salad is so simple; it has just a few ingredients and takes no time to prepare. However, the flavors are intense with a mix of the tartness of green tomatoes coupled with the bright sweet and acidic flavors of the red tomatoes. Simply char the tomatoes, toss them with good quality extra virgin olive oil, tear some basil or a mix of herbs of your choosing, and season to taste with flaky sea salt and red pepper flakes. I don’t feel the salad even needs vinegar or some other form of acid as the tomatoes themselves provide that. However, a splash of sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar would work well here if you prefer it that way.

There are two keys to the salad. One is to use a cast iron pan or griddle and heat it until it is piping hot so that you can achieve the char that adds the smoky caramelized flavor to the salad. Secondly, usually it’s important to season ingredients prior to cooking, but in this instance the tomatoes need to be seasoned after they are charred as salt will bring out the juices, which we want to keep in the tomatoes until they are finished and are ready to be tossed together in the salad. Otherwise, this couldn’t be easier, healthier, or more flavorful!

Recipe follows after the jump…

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This is another post about preserving summer produce, this time with tomatoes. Tomatoes, like peaches, will be around for a few more weeks so now is the time to make tomato sauce. I place my tomato sauce in quart containers and freeze it. However you can certainly preserve the sauce in jars using a canner too.

I know a there are a lot of people from Berkeley Heights and the surrounding communities who are steeped in the Italian-American tradition of making tomato or red sauce. I also am aware that people have very strong opinions regarding what exactly goes in a classic red tomato sauce. I’ve tried making tomato sauce a number of times in a number of different ways but I really like this recipe for making tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes. It’s very basic and pretty easy, though a bit time consuming.

I skin the tomatoes, chop them, and slow cook them with garlic, olive oil, and a splash of white wine. I add a touch of red pepper flake but you can certainly omit that if you prefer. I add fresh basil at the very end. Otherwise I try to keep this base sauce very neutral so that I can adjust it later when I use it in other dishes. However, as is, this is a great red sauce to use for marinara or other pasta dishes. I used it while making pizza the other night and it made a wonderful base. In fact, I liked it so much I went and bought more tomatoes and made another large batch.

I used about 10 pound of tomatoes, which I purchased from Vito’s produce in Berkeley Heights. You can scale this way up or way down depending on your needs. Just realize that although ten pounds of tomatoes sounds like quite a bit, they cook down and reduce significantly. So, ten pounds of tomatoes yielded about 2 quarts of actual sauce. Also regardless of how much you make, it will still take a decent amount of time…so, you may as well make a bunch. It freezes very well! Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →

culinary flights of fancy

Home Cooking Adventures in Berkeley Heights

Tag Archives: New Jersey Tomatoes

Charred Green and Red Tomato Salad

Tomato Sauce Using Fresh Jersey Tomatoes