Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Recipes, Cooking tips and maybe some 'Home Made' secrets !
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Trev62
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Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by Trev62 »

We have a plethora of tomatoes this year so have been in need of some ideas of what to do with them. The usual chutneys plus our favorite roast pepper and tomato chutney are already in the cupboard, tomato puree and various sauce mixes with added herbs etc. are in the freezer as are many tomato soups, over 30 jars have been stored away again some with added herbs, some tomatoes have just been frozen and several tray loads are currently being sun dried, the chickens, rabbits and tortoise are assisting in keeping some of the surplus of down and today we found a recipe and baked a "tomato bread" loaf. Never heard of it before but............... here it is:

Image

And rather tasty to say the least.

Spot the problem?? Yep, this computer illiterate person cannot work out how to rotate the photo, sorry about that :oops: But........I have figured out if you click on it it goes to full size, not sure if that is meant to happen?? >coc<

So that is what I do with my tomatoes, what do you do with yours?? :-D

Admin/Mod's - Sorry if this is in the wrong place as it overlaps a couple of subjects, feel free to move if required and if you know how to rotate the photo it may save a few people neck ache!

Thanks
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lancashire lass
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by lancashire lass »

the bread looks great Trev )t'

I'm not a lover of raw tomatoes so in the past I've usually only concentrated on growing certain type of tomatoes for making passata (I love my passata machine which squeezes the juice and leaves behind just the skin and most seeds which you could feed to the animals) Before the passata machine, I used to just freeze whole and bag up and store in the freezer until needed - when making a tomato based sauce for something like a chilli or spaggy bol, I'd just pop the whole frozen tomatoes into the pan and let them cook down (using a fork to lift out any skin)

I recall someone making tomato powder once using a dehydrator and sliced tomatoes - never tried it myself so don't know how it works.
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Meanqueen
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by Meanqueen »

I don't grow tomatoes any more, but when I did and had too many I gave away lots to my neighbours. I also ate them every day, and put the green ones in stews.

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manda
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by manda »

The bread looks lovely )like(

I've done this before and whilst it is a faff it's another way of preserving them

Dried Tomato Powder

- Dry your tomatoes as usual either sun-dried or in a dehydrator.
- Stick them in a bag in the freezer for about a week (just make sure there are no other bugs lurking).
- Remove the tomatoes from the freezer and transfer immediately to the blender. If you have more than one blender full, do this in batches. The idea is to grind up the tomatoes when they ...
- Transfer the tomato powder to a glass container with a tight-fitting lid....
- Store in a cool place, away from direct sunlight.

Tomato powder is great in soup. Enchilada sauce. Sprinkled over ground beef as it is cooking or mixed in burgers as you're making them.In salad dressings, vegetable dips or add it to pasta sauces in the same way you would tomato puree.
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wildlifemad
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by wildlifemad »

Trev that bread looks lovely! If you have time would you mind putting up the recipe as I'd like to try it, we have LOADS of Plum Tomatoes (Incas) which are lovely & would probably do well in that loaf. Thanks.
Trev62
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by Trev62 »

Tomato Bread

Ingredients

2 cups cherry tomatoes or quartered tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
¾ cup warm water
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (rosemary, basil, marjoram, thyme, sage, dill, oregano, parsley), substitute with dried if required.



Instructions

Roast the tomatoes by placing on a foil in a baking tray with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast for 10-15 mins @ 200 C or until the tomato skins have collapsed or beginning to brown. Puree the tomatoes (we used a blender).

Mix the water, yeast, honey and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a hole in the middle and pour in the tomatoes, the water/yeast mixture and the herbs. Stir until the ingredients are starting to come together then knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough will still be a little sticky and tacky. If it feels too wet add a little more flour then roll into a ball.

Lightly oil a clean bowl with oil and roll the dough ball around in it. Cover loosely with cling film and place in a warm place for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.

Shape into an 8-inch square about an inch thick. Starting at one end roll the dough firmly into a cylinder making sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam side up and pinch the seam closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9x5 inch bread pan and gently shake the dough until all four sides touch the edges of the pan. Cover loosely with cling film and return to a warm place until it is almost doubled in size or for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 175 C. Boil 2 cups of water and pour it into a baking pan and place it on the bottom. If possible place the dough above the rack with the pan of boiling water (we did not do this but it is to help keep the bread moist). Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top of the bread is browned and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap on it with your knuckles.

Transfer the bread to a wire rack and cool.
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wildlifemad
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by wildlifemad »

Thanks for the recipe Trev, will be trying this!!!
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by wildlifemad »

I tried the recipe yesterday & its lovely!! It had only just come out of the oven when hubby came home but that didn't stop him cutting a chunk off!! Yes it is certainly one for the recipe book. Thanks Trev!
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KarenE
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Re: Tomatoes......What do you do with them???

Post by KarenE »

I've cut down the amount of tomatoes I grew this year but in the past when I've had a glut I've:
- had a lot of bruchetta, and also salsa
- lots of greek and capri salads
- roasted cherry tomatoes and preserved them in oil, with some dried herbs
- made chutneys (both red and green tomatoes)
- made my own tomato ketchup which is fiddly but doesn't half use up a lot
- made my own tomatoe passata like LL and frozen it
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