Tomatoes grown outdoors are the best – no greenhouse or polytunnel produce can compare to the sun kissed, slowly ripened, fleshy fruit, be it tiny yellow and red cherry tomatoes or enormous heritage beefsteaks. The latter, needless to say, are much more difficult to grow on my patch of earth. The Italians and the French are so much luckier!
But this summer is merciful even for British tomatoes, and so we can enjoy all kinds of lovely dishes with tomato flavour. From tomato sauce for meat and pasta, through tarts and rice dishes all the way to tomato sorbet, here’s a tomato-fragrant collection of recipes.
Homemade tomato sauce is the best, especially if made from scratch. If you have very ripe fresh tomatoes, use them - otherwise a couple of tins of good quality tomatoes will do the trick. The sauce is simple and delicious, making it no excuse to use shop-bought sauce on your pizza or pasta.
That tomato sauce can be also used in a meatball casserole, Italian style. Meatballs are made from minced pork and beef, also after Italian fashion, and the casserole is baked with diced courgettes, peppers and mozzarella chunks tucked in between the meatballs.
It’s not just meatballs: Neapolitan pork braciole are pork roulades with herb and Parmesan filling braised in tomato sauce. Braciole napoletane al sugo in Italian are the traditional, classic Italian Sunday lunch dish.
Pork braciole in tomato sauce
RECIPE
Orecchiette means ‘little ears’ and this pasta shape is adorable, but any other small pasta shapes can be used in this recipe. Folded into jammy, roasted cherry tomatoes spiced up with rose harissa, they make one of the nicest and simplest tomato pasta dishes.
Orecchiette with harissa tomatoes
RECIPE
Provolone pasta bake with homemade tomato marinara sauce is a dish whose flavour can knock your socks off, and in a good way. If I say so myself, this tomato sauce is unbelievably good. Also, provolone is the best melting cheese for pasta al forno dishes so stock up if you find it in the shops. Cheese can be frozen, don’t forget.
This dish is best made with fresh, fleshy tomatoes as they cook with onions before adding cold, leftover (or cooked for the purpose) rice. It’s spiced up with chilli and it is topped with a cheesy crust flashed under the grill. Irresistible and good enough on its own for dinner rather than served as a lavish side.
Like the best Greek prawn saganaki, these king prawns are served with a spicy tomato stew cooked with chilies and raisins. You can flash-sear the prawns before adding them to the stew as the recipe instructs but they will also cook on top of the tomatoes, if placed there raw.
Prawns with tomato stew
RECIPE
Both beans and tomatoes are in season at the same time so it makes sense to pair them in this great side dish recipe. The beans are briefly blanched, the tomatoes are sautéed with green chilies and together they complement each other’s flavour.
Green beans with tomatoes
RECIPE
Tomato sauce made from scratch in the pasta context again, this time with lightly fried aubergine and mozzarella. I like fusilli or penne for this, and the flavour deepens when it bakes.
Tomato and aubergine pasta bake
RECIPE
Tomato and spinach butter beans, a delicious vegetarian casserole and a satisfying nutritional powerhouse. It’s made with cherry tomatoes and butter beans cooked from dried which makes it a good budget recipe as dry butter beans are hugely better value than ready-cooked in jars.
Tomato and spinach butter beans
RECIPE
Upside down tomato tart with roasted tomato slices and puff pastry base is a variety of savoury tarte Tatin. This is nice and easy, made with shop-bought good quality puff pastry. Tomato slices are caramelised in the oven, then covered with a round of puff pastry. The only tricky bit is turning it out onto a plate.
Upside down tomato tart
RECIPE
This calls for really, really ripe tomatoes but the resulting savoury sorbet is the most delicious savoury ice cream possible. Flavoured with basil, frozen without the help of ice cream maker, it can be served as a starter, a palate cleanser or a sophisticated dessert. Personally, I just scoff it as and when.