End of summer in Greeley means tomatoes on your plate for days
By Emily Kemme
Late summer in Colorado offers welcome relief because we know the day’s intense heat will subside, and in its place, we get cooler nights.
In that combination lies the ultimate secret to the season’s allure. The days are all the more glorious because Colorado fruits are at their sweetest. Notably, plump, juicy tomatoes off-the-vine are the result of these seasonal temperature variations.
You’ve nurtured and tended them for months, either in their beginnings as seedlings or as tender sprouts. Their vines are sturdy, branching up toward the sun as if to say, “Here are our beauties! Warm and infuse them with your glowing richness, paint their skins to match your heat.”
Whether you’ve carefully tended a garden this summer or you prefer to peruse the offerings of area Farmers Markets, tomatoes are as plentiful as are the myriad ways to use them.
Here are a handful of recipes to get vine fresh tomatoes on your plate in the coming weeks.
Tomato and Ricotta Pie
Tomato pie is often considered the symbol of summer. This recipe features a creamy, herbal ricotta filling. Top it with home-grown or prized heirloom tomatoes for intense flavor to balance the filling. Photo by Emily Kemme.
While there is little better than popping a sun-warmed tomato into your mouth and biting down to release its juices, a tomato pie is often considered the symbol of summer.
This recipe features a creamy, herbal ricotta filling used with a store-bought pie shell. You can certainly bake your own, but baby — it’s hot outside. Less time in the kitchen is a good thing right now.
Home-grown or prized heirloom tomatoes from a Farmers Market are best sources for the intense flavor to balance the ricotta filling.
To keep the crust from becoming soggy, salt tomatoes after slicing to let their juices flow onto a paper towel-lined plate. Pre-bake (also called blind baking) the crust according to recipe directions. This helps cook the ricotta to firmness and promises a flaky pie crust.
The Perfect Caprese Salad
A classic caprese salad is the simplest of dishes. All you’ll need are the best tomatoes you can find, thick slices of fresh mozzarella, slivered fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of top quality olive oil. That’s why the caprese is so perfect. Photo by Emily Kemme.
A classic caprese is the simplest of dishes. Composed of the three colors of the Italian flag — green, white and red — the ingredients of this salad from Capri, an island off the Amalfi Coast near Naples, are limited to the best tomatoes you can find, thick slices of fresh mozzarella and slivered fresh basil leaves. Drizzled with top quality extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with flaky sea salt and cracked pepper, a caprese summons visions of warm summer breezes perfumed with salt water or sunshine-kissed picnics in the countryside.
A caprese doesn’t need balsamic vinegar, basil pesto or lettuce. It also shouldn’t have dried basil or slices of mozzarella from a package of deli cheese.
Caprese salads are finicky like that. It’s also why, if you keep it simple and use the highest quality ingredients you can find, they’re perfect.
Chilled Roasted Tomato and Carrot Soup
This version of gazpacho has an Italian twist with oven-roasted tomatoes, carrots and shallots, a blast of basil and a whisper of sherry vinegar. Serve in small glasses for cool sipping. Photo by Emily Kemme.
Gazpacho isn’t the only chilled summer soup that’s refreshing and healthy. This version of the Spanish favorite has an Italian twist. Oven-roasted tomatoes, carrots and shallots get a shot of garlic, a blast of basil and a whisper of sherry vinegar to tempt your tastebuds with this summer sipper. A dollop of Mexican crema or crème fraîche adds a creamy touch.
Roasted Salmon Fillets with Tomatoes and Feta Couscous
So you’ve decided, in spite of the heat, you’re going to turn on the oven. Now that you’ve taken that step, cook this slow-roasted salmon strewn with fresh herbs, and red and yellow cherry tomatoes. Juices from the burst tomatoes infuse the fish and keep it moist. Serve on a bed of feta couscous tossed with sautéed zucchini.
Bucatini with Cherry Tomatoes and Pancetta Sauce
Pan-roasted cherry tomatoes make an easy sauce for your favorite pasta. Add dollops of ricotta and cubed prosciutto for an easy, late summer meal. Photo by Emily Kemme.
Summer is all about waiting for vine-ripened tomatoes to be ready and then when they are — boom! You’re suddenly overflowing with them. Pan-roast cherry tomatoes to highlight the already sweet nature of your garden’s candy sweethearts. After spending ten minutes on the stovetop, they’ll burst and be ready to compose an easy sauce. Pair it with shredded basil — another garden favorite — dollops of ricotta and cubed prosciutto for one of the easiest meals of the summer.
Recipes courtesy of Feeding the Famished.