Recipes: Tomatoes

Tomato tartlets

All-purpose flour, for rolling

1/2 pound all-butter puff pastry

30 cherry tomatoes, halved crosswise (about 1 pound)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound fresh ricotta

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Position racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry to a 91/2- by 171/2-inch rectangle. Using a straight edge, trim pastry to a 9- by 17-inch rectangle. Transfer pastry to baking sheet and poke all over with fork. Top with another sheet of parchment and another baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack, until golden. Remove top baking sheet and parchment paper, and bake pastry until lightly browned and dry, about 10 minutes longer. Slide paper and pastry onto a rack and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss tomatoes with olive oil and 2 teaspoons thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Place tomatoes on baking sheet, cut side up, and bake on upper rack about 15 minutes, until softened slightly. Let cool.

In a food processor, purée ricotta until very creamy. Spread ricotta over pastry, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange tomatoes cut side up on ricotta in five rows of 12. Sprinkle lightly with fresh thyme. Using a long knife, cut pastry between tomatoes into 60 squares. Transfer tartlets to platters, and serve at once.

From Food & Wine

Spiced marinated tomatoes

4 cups halved red, yellow or orange cherry tomatoes

1⁄3 cup thinly sliced green onions (about 4)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced

1⁄3 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir until blended. Pour vinegar mixture over tomato mixture, tossing to coat. Chill 1 hour.

Makes 8 1/2-cup servings.

From Cooking Light

Garlic grilled tomatoes

4 ripe red tomatoes

House seasoning (recipe follows)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

Cut tomatoes in half crosswise, then season with house seasoning. Heat oil in small frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook until garlic just starts to turn golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour garlic and oil into heat-proof bowl.

Oil the grill and set for high heat. Place tomatoes cut side down on grill, and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Turn over, top with the garlic-oil mixture and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Remove from grill and top with thyme, house seasoning and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

House seasoning

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together, and store in an airtight container for as long as six months.

From Paula Deen, The Food Network

Texas toast tomato sandwiches

1 package (9.5 ounces) five-cheese Texas toast

2 pounds assorted heirloom tomatoes

1/4 cup bottled blue cheese vinaigrette

6 tablespoons torn fresh basil

Salt and pepper

Garnishes: crumbled blue cheese, fresh basil leaves

Prepare Texas toast according to package directions. Meanwhile, halve larger tomatoes and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices; halve or quarter smaller tomatoes. Gently toss tomatoes with vinaigrette, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over hot Texas toast. Garnish, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

From Southern Living

Tomato sugarplums

4 cups Juliet tomatoes (you can substitute Sungold cherry tomatoes or Romanitas)

1/4 cup sugar, plus about 1/4 cup more for cutting board

2 cups almonds

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat conventional oven to 325 degrees or a convection oven to 300 degrees.

Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Place them with their cut sides up on a rack set over a sheet pan. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, sprinkle with another 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue cooking until tomatoes are dry but not brittle, about 11/2 hours for cherry tomatoes, about 21/2 hours for larger Juliet or Romanita tomatoes. It might take less time if you use a convection oven. Cool.

Meanwhile, toast almonds in the oven until nicely browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool and chop finely with a knife, or pulse in batches in a food processor to a very coarse grind. When tomatoes are cool, sprinkle a cutting board with 1/4 cup sugar and cover with tomatoes. Carefully chop them quite finely, tossing with some of the sugar if they begin to stick to your knife.

In a large bowl, combine honey, orange zest, cinnamon and ginger. Add almonds and tomatoes, and mix well. Roll mixture into 1/2-inch balls. Fill a bowl with the confectioners' sugar and drop the balls into it as you go. When you have almost covered the surface of the sugar with balls, toss to coat the balls well. Proceed until all the balls are coated.

Place in an airtight container and let "ripen" several days in the refrigerator. Toss again in confectioners' sugar, and bring to room temperature before serving.

Makes about 20.

From the San Francisco Chronicle

This story was originally published August 4, 2011 at 6:04 AM with the headline "Recipes: Tomatoes."