Vegetables: Tomato :: Leslie Durso

Archive for Vegetables: Tomato

Italian Summer Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

By Leslie · Comments (2) · July 2nd, 2012

With Summer here, take the time to enjoy all the produce it has to offer! Heirloom tomatoes are one of my favorite things about the season! The bright, beautiful flavors of them can be savored in this simple, yet super tasty bruschetta!

Enjoy and if you want to see more, check out the Dasani Facebook page!

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

serves 15-20

What you’ll need:

5 large heirloom tomatoes, diced and de-seeded

1/2 purple onion, finely diced

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

a big pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 -12 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

a cup of fresh basil, shredded

What you’ll do:

Mix it all up and serve on a toasted baguette. Tomato mix can be made the night before and kept in the refrigerator.

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Categories : Appetizers, Dips, Ethnic: Mediterranean, featured, recipes, Vegan, Vegetables: Tomato, Videos

Golden Tomato Sauce

By Leslie · Comments (3) · September 28th, 2011

I got a few pounds of these gorgeous golden tomatoes at Green String Farm and I knew immediately I wanted to make a golden tomato sauce. It may look a little strange, but since these tomatoes are uber sweet the flavor was fantastic! I served it over some fresh spinach linguini. You could also make this recipe with red roma tomatoes.

Golden Tomato Sauce

Serves 6

What you'll need:

2 1/4 lb. golden roma tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

What you'll do:

In a large frying pan over medium heat, add in a few swirls of olive oil, the onions, and a big pinch of salt. Saute the onions until they are soft. Add in the garlic and the tomatoes. Saute on medium-medium low until the tomatoes breakdown. About 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender or transferring to a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve over pasta.

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Categories : Ethnic: Mediterranean, Pasta, Vegetables: Tomato

Sunday Rice

By Leslie · Comments (1) · September 8th, 2011

Yes, I'm aware that it's only Thursday, but this is the kind of dish that is perfect for the end of the week. It's one of those dishes that uses up those items in your refrigerator that you've been trying to figure out what to do with all week. Lots of the ingredients in this can be subbed out to accommodate what you already have. I used this great rice/lentil blend that I found in the bulk bins at Whole Foods, but any rice or pasta will work for this as well.

Sunday Rice

Serves 4

What you'll need:

1 lb. of rice, quinoa or pasta

1 small or 1/2 large eggplant, cubed

1 small or 1/2 large onion, diced

a couple handfuls of mushrooms

a handful of spinach, chard or whatever green you've got around

3 cloves of garlic

a couple handfuls of grape tomatoes, or any tomatoes, but if they are bigger, chop them

about 5 basil leaves, thinly sliced

pine nuts optional

What you'll do:

Put the rice or pasta on to cook. Cook according to the directions. That being said, if I'm making rice I usually will cook it in vegetable broth or toss in some chopped garlic and or onion into the pot to give it a little flavor.

While that is cooking, in the largest saute pan you have, saute the eggplant with some olive oil and a big sprinkle of salt on medium high heat. Toss a few times. When the eggplant is starting to get a little golden on the edges, reduce heat to medium and add in the onions. Toss together and about 2 minutes later, reduce the heat to medium low and add in the mushrooms. Again toss together and let cook for a few minutes. You may have to add another drizzle of olive oil if your eggplant absorbed it all. When the onions are soft and shiny, add in the garlic, greens (unless you are using spinach, then save it for the end), and tomatoes. Toss together.

When the rice/pasta is done cooking, pour it all into a large serving dish or bowl. In the frying pan, toss in the spinach, basil, and nuts. Gently mix it all together and pour right on top of your rice or pasta. Serve family style.

Of course you can always plate these individually as well.

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Categories : Entrees, Ethnic: Mediterranean, Vegetables: Eggplant, Vegetables: Mushrooms, Vegetables: Tomato

Lemony Linguini with Tomatoes and Arugula

By Leslie · Comments (5) · April 6th, 2011

With Spring comes warm weather and bright, bold flavors! This pasta is a perfect punch of lemon and arugula. It's light and healthy, perfect for this time of year.

Lemony Linguini with Tomatoes and Arugula

Serves 4

What you'll need:

1 lb. of linguini

1 lemon

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

6 roma tomatoes, diced

a couple handfuls of arugula

4 tbsp. butter, real or vegan

4 tbsp. olive oil

What you'll do:

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. While it's cooking place the olive oil and butter in a pot and turn the heat on to medium low. As soon as the butter is melted, add in the garlic and the juice of the lemon. When the pasta is al dente, add the tomatoes and arugula to the garlic lemon pot and add the strained pasta on top. Toss together. Serve immediately.

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Categories : Pasta, Vegetables: Tomato

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomaato

By Leslie · Comments (3) · April 1st, 2011

Choosing tomatoes can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. There are a bazillion (official count) varieties that range in looks and price. It's getting to be summertime, which is tomato season, so let's break it down shall we?

Roma

Roma tomatoes are often called Italian plum tomatoes and a fairly common in the grocery stores. They are super easy to grow and produce a lot of tomatoes. Perfect for a beginning gardener.

I love using roma tomatoes for bruschetta. They are firm and tasty making them the perfect candidate. I also love these in a caprese salad.

Photo from wikipedia.com

Campari

The campari tomato is getting more and more popular. It's a great salad tomato. Super juicy, lots of flavor with a very yummy : ) The best thing about them is they don't have much of that mealy texture that I hate! Highly recommend finding them. Try to buy them on the vine.

Photo from wikipedia.com

Heirloom

Heirloom tomatoes may be the the oddest looking tomatoes, but they are some of the tastiest! For ever color there is a new taste. Some of my favorites are the brandywine, big rainbow and cherokee purple.

My favorite way to use these are in a caprese salad or bruschetta. Or sometimes I even eat these in a sandwich with a little olive oil and lettuce.

Photo from wikipedia.com

San Marzano

Another variety of heirloom tomatoes are San Marzano. These tomatoes are longer and skinnier and taste delish! They are my favorite for making tomato sauce. These are harder to find raw, but they are pretty easy to find in a can. Definitely check these out!

Photo from wikipedia.com

For more recipes and ideas see Tomato Recipes

These are my favorites, did I leave out yours? Tell me about it.

Comments (3)

Categories : Gardening, Vegetables: Tomato

Quinoa Vegetable Stack

By Leslie · Comments (4) · March 31st, 2011

I decided to have some of my friends over for dinner to celebrate my friend Tania's Birthday. I asked Tania what she would like and she gave me a list of ingredients: quinoa, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, and kale. This is what I came up with:

I love challenges like this! Forces you to be super creative.

Tania's Quinoa Vegetable Stack

Serves 4-6

What you'll need:

1 cup of quinoa, prepared as the package instructs

a handful of pine nuts, toasted

1 eggplant, sliced into discs and grilled

about 1 cup of ricotta cheese, homemade or store bought (I like Polly-O the best)

1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and grilled

1 head of kale, rinsed really well and massaged with 1 tbsp. salt

tomato sauce, your recipe or mine

fresh basil leaves

What you'll do:

Make your tomato sauce. Grill your eggplant and zucchini. At the same time, make the quinoa according to the package directions, but add in a spoonful of tomato sauce and 2 cloves of chopped garlic. (quinoa always needs a little flavor help) After it's done cooking, stir in the handful of toasted pine nuts.

Lay out your plates on the counter and begin plating. First, put a spoonful of quinoa in the center of the plate. Next a disc of eggplant followed by a dollop of ricotta cheese. Then fold each slice of zucchini in half and place on top of the cheese. Lay another disc of eggplant on top and top with the kale and a basil leaf. Now I serve them like this and have a bowl of tomato sauce on the table for guests to ladel on top.

** massaging kale: I love raw kale; it has such a lovely texture. As weird as it sounds, yes you massage the kale. In detail, you'll wash the kale well, chop it and place it in a bowl. Add in some salt and massage the kale until it shrinks to about a quarter of where it started from. To finish, rinse and drain well. That's it.

Tools I used:

Grill Pan

Colander

Check out "Things I Love" for more fun stuff!

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Categories : Entrees, Quinoa, Vegetables: Eggplant, Vegetables: Kale, Vegetables: Tomato

Mini Eggplant Timbale

By Leslie · Comments (3) · February 10th, 2011

An Eggplant Timbale is a very traditional Italian dish that has been around as long as spaghetti and meatballs. It is like a big meat and pasta pie with an eggplant crust. . . I guess that's the best I can do to describe it. But yes, normally it's like a large pie that your slice up. I've been thinking about how to change up this dish forever and it finally hit me this morning when I was thinking about romantic food for Valentines Day. I was going to make them mini! Well, individual portions that is. They are so much prettier when you plate them! And of course I left out all the meat. (which if you like you can add back in) One of the best things about this recipe is that you can make them ahead of time, keep them in the frigde and pop them in the oven when you are ready for dinner : )

It's like a little present you get to unwrap for dinner!

Mini Eggplant Timable

Makes 4 (10 oz.) ramekins

What you'll need:

2 eggplants

1/2 lb. pasta

marinara sauce (homemade or your favorite)

about 1 cup of ricotta cheese (store bought or homemade)

a small handful of shredded mozzarella

a few handfuls of shredded parmesan

fresh basil

What you'll do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the eggplant thinly lengthwise, sprinkle with salt and lay in a colander. Let it rest for about 15 minutes. Using a grill pan, grill the eggplant. While the eggplant is grilling, cook the pasta according to the package. Drain the pasta and toss with enough marinara sauce to coat it. Ok, now for assembling.

Grease the ramekins with cooking spray. Lay the eggplant in the the ramekins so they hang over the lip like this:

Next sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella and parmesan cheese on the bottom. Fill up halfway with pasta. Add a couple spoonfuls of ricotta cheese.

Scoop in some more pasta and press down. Next, tightly fold the eggplant "flaps" over the top of the pasta going clockwise.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place a plate upside down on top of the ramekin. Carefully flip over. Tap the ramekin and pull it off. The timbale should slide right out. Garnish with some marinara sauce, parmesan and fresh basil.

Serve immediately.

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Tools I used:

Ramekins

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Categories : Ethnic: Mediterranean, Vegetables: Eggplant, Vegetables: Tomato

Game Day Potato Skins

By Leslie · Comments (1) · February 2nd, 2011

If you are here in the United States you are probably getting excited for the Super Bowl this weekend! Even if you are not a big football fan, hopefully you can appreciate the excitement, the commercials and the food : ) I love "game day" food!

Here is a great recipe for a simple, fabulous potato skins! Now when you make these don't throw out all insides of the potatoes! You can use them for making gnocchi, mashed potatoes, soups or chowders.

Game Day Potato Skins

What you'll need:

Russet Potatoes (regular brown baking ones)

a few handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped tomatoes or Salsa

Chopped scallions

Salt and Peppers

a few dollops of sour cream or tofutti sour cream

What you'll do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Clean your potatoes well. Using a fork, pierce the skin in a few places to allow for steam to escape. Coat the potatoes with some olive oil and place the potatoes in the oven. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes. Take the potatoes out and let cool on a cutting board for a few minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, slice in half lengthwise.

With a spoon, scoop out all the insides and place in a bowl. You can use these in a soup, gnocchi or chowder later.

Place the skins on a cookie sheet and sprinkle in some shredded cheddar cheese. Place the pan under the broiler for a few minutes till the cheese is melted and the skins a little crisp. Take out and place on your serving platter. Top the skins with tomatoes or salsa, scallions, salt and pepper. Then dollop a small spoonful of sour cream on top.

Serve warm and Enjoy!

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Categories : Appetizers, Party Ideas: Game Day, Vegetables: Potatoes, Vegetables: Tomato

Roasted Tomato Soup

By Leslie · Comments (2) · December 13th, 2010

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm! I made this recently in these adorable mini pots for my sisters baby shower {yup, another one. More on that later this week}, but this soup is wonderful on any occasion! Roasting the tomatoes first makes this soup packed full of flavor! Need a tutorial on roasting tomatoes? You’re lucky I posted one last week : )

Enjoy this soup with a garlic bread, grilled cheese, or just by itself is enough.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Serves 4-6

What you’ll need:

about 4 pounds tomatoes {I used a mix of sugar plum, roma and campari}, quarter the larger ones and leave the small ones whole

10-15 cloves of garlic {no that’s not a typo, don’t worry it’s not strong!}

olive oil, for roasting

a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

kosher or sea salt

1 medium to large yellow onion, diced

1 cup vegetable broth

a pinch of cayenne pepper

1 cup water or 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes {if you like it chunky}

1/4 cup heavy cream {if you like it creamy}

a few basil leaves shredded to garnish with

What you’ll do:

First you have to roast the tomatoes and garlic. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookies sheet with parchment paper or foil. Toss the halved or quartered tomatoes and the peeled garlic in some olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and a big pinch of salt. Lay on the cookie sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes or until they just start to brown. {the entire house will smell incredible when they are ready}

While your tomatoes are doing their thing, heat a large pot on medium low on the stove. Pour in a few rounds of olive oil and the diced onions. Then cook them till translucent. There is a phrase for this in Italian. It’s “devi uccidere la cipolla” It means “You must kill the onion”. The theory is you have to cook is so much you literally have pulled all the life out of it.

When your onion is “dead” and your tomatoes are roasted, pour the tomatoes, garlic and all the juice from the pan into the pot. Stir and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Now you need to transfer the tomatoes and onions into a blender and blend till smooth. This works best if you do it in batches. Then run the liquid through a strainer and back into the pot. Add the broth and water. Season to taste with a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt.

If you’d like your soup more chunky, add the can of diced tomatoes and if you like it creamier add some heavy cream gradually till you get the consistency that you like.

Enjoy!

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Categories : gluten free, Soup, Valentines Day Ideas, Vegetables: Tomato

Roasted Tomatoes

By Leslie · Comments (4) · December 10th, 2010

Alright, some of you out there may look at this picture and say, "yuck!", but others of you may be swooning! If you said, "yuck", you may be uninformed. (or just not like tomatoes) But these are little gems bursting with flavor. Yes, these are roasted tomatoes. You can do so many amazing things with them. Once you get this super easy technic down you'll be using these tossed with pasta, smashed as pizza sauce, on a salad, on toasted baguettes or with a spoon! They really are so versatile and a secret weapon to have in you kitchen.

Personally, I like roasting smaller tomatoes. (these are cherry tomatoes in the picture) I think they are more versatile, but you can roast just about any kind.

Roasted Tomatoes

What you'll need:

a few handfuls of tomatoes

a few cloves of garlic, peeled

a drizzle of olive oil

a pinch of salt

What you'll do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lay your tomatoes and garlic on the paper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake on the top rack for about 35-45 minutes or until the whole house smells like heaven! No seriously it will! But you want them to just start to brown or pop. The picture above was taken just as I took them out.

If you really want to impress someone, toss these with some linguini pasta, fresh basil and top with some fresh parmesan. Oooooh! heaven!

Or try my Roasted Tomato Soup!

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