In the Summer, dinner in a hurry is the name of the game. So is using the best and freshest in season ingredients. It’s amazing how delicious most Summer produce is with only the slightest bit of encouragement. While the root vegetables of Winter require baking, roasting and braising, Summer vegetables and fruit often can be eaten out of hand, or very gently cooked to bring out their peak flavor.
Tomatoes are one of the best Summer fruit, that tastes more like a vegetable. Here are three classic and easy ways to use tomatoes–with pasta, soup and salad. Each are vegetarian, healthy and are prepared in a jiffy. Two don’t require any cooking at all!
First up, fresh tomatoes and basil get tossed with just a minimum of seasonings. The result is dinner in under under 20 minutes. Recipe courtesy of Chef Lorenzo Boni and Barilla.
Penne with Fresh Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
Serve 4-6
1 box Barilla Whole Grain Penne (13.25 ounces)
5 Tbs. Extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic
1 pint (3 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
4 basil leaves
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat half of olive oil in medium-sized skillet. Using the side of a knife, gently press and peel garlic clove and sauté in skillet for 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and sauté for additional 3 minutes. Remove garlic from skillet. Drain pasta, add to skillet. Toss with remaining olive oil, basil and cheese before serving.
This twist on soup that’s a salad uses fresh corn in addition to tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
Summer Sweet Gazpacho
Serves 4
1 cup tomato juice
2 Tablespoons chopped red onion
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup barely cooked fresh corn kernels
1/4 diced cucumber
4 tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
In a blender, combine the tomato juice, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Blend on high until pureed. Pour the contents of the blender into a glass bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover tightly and chill at least 4 hours. Serve chilled.
The traditional Salad Caprese is very simple–just tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil. Buy the best quality mozzarella you can find, packed in water.
Caprese Salad
Serves 4
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Alternate fresh mozzarella slices on a large platter with sliced tomatoes, and basil leaves, overlapping each. Just before serving, drizzle on some excellent extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
——-Amy Sherman
Technorati Tags: tomatoes, summer, salad, pasta, soup, whole grains, vegetarian
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At Home with Kim Vallee | 19-Jul-08 at 11:21 am | Permalink
The uncooked Fresh Tomato and Basil pasta recipe is another favorite that can be prepared in a flash. You do not have to be shy to serve simple dishes like those for an improvised alfresco dinner. Your guests will be impressed and happy to spent time with you.
Celeste Campbell | 30-Jul-08 at 10:29 am | Permalink
Caprese salad? Geez, I’ve been making this for YEARS and didn’t know it had a name. Instead of using all olive oil, put your tomatoes on the platter in an artful design, then sprinkle them with a good quality balsamic vinegar. On top of that put the cheese, I prefer to grate it finely because it can be tough to slice mozzarella evenly, and then evenly distribute over everything a chiffonade of the basil leaves. Then you drizzle on a little olive oil, although extra virgin can overwhelm the taste of hgh quality mozzarella, so I prefer to use the extra light olive oil. You can decorate the salad with basil flowers and grape tomatoes cut in half. Always put the balsamic vinegar on the tomatoes before you put the cheese on the platter, otherwise your pristine creamy mozzarella will look dirty — although it will taste great!