John Myers
In a “good” tomato year, nature gives hobby gardeners and farmers a rich harvest. There is always something left over and ideas for using leftover tomatoes are in demand – and there are quite a few here. Be inspired by our tips!
This is how to use tomatoes
Whether you want to use vine, beef, cherry, or cherry tomatoes: you can do a lot in the kitchen with the juicy, aromatic fruits. The variety of tomato recipes ranges from salads and soups to pizza and pasta sauces and pan and oven dishes. A very popular and easy way to use up fresh tomatoes is to combine them with mozzarella and basil. For this simple appetizer, simply slice the fruit and top with the cheese and leaves. Drizzle over a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, season – done. Plump tomatoes are best for recipes like this, but soft and overripe tomatoes are better cooked. How do you recognize fresh tomatoes? In addition to the firm, flawless skin, the strong color and a fresh stem base or green.
Drying, cooking, freezing: recycling tomatoes made easy
If you don’t want to enjoy tomatoes that are still in good shape right away, the production of dried tomatoes is a good idea. This is very easy to do in the oven at home or in the dehydrator. You can achieve a particularly aromatic result with cherry tomatoes, but basically, all types of tomatoes are suitable for drying. Instead of heat, cold also works for preservation. But you should cook the fruit beforehand. Use tomatoes that have been passed through or cooked in pieces – ideally if you are already preparing tomato sauce, ketchup, or soup. If you freeze raw specimens, washed and cut them into small pieces, they are immediately ready for further processing, for example as a pizza topping or for bruschetta. This way you can also use up tomato sauce left over from the last pasta meal: simply defrost and spread on the pizza.
Peel and pickle the tomatoes
When cooking tomatoes, skinning is often necessary to utilize the fruity interior. This is easy to do with a hot-cold water bath. Score the skin on the underside of the tomatoes in a cross-shape, briefly cook the fruit, and then shock them in ice water – the skin can then be easily peeled off. By the way, you don’t necessarily have to skin them to pickle tomatoes in vinegar or oil. It is enough to sterilize them in boiling water and put them directly into the jar. Prick the tomatoes, and absorb the flavors of the spices well. Otherwise, dried specimens can of course also be inserted – this way of using tomatoes is ideal for the antipasti plate as a starter.
