The Cowgirl Chef: You say tomato, I say cherry tomato
Most of the year, on both sides of the big pond that separates us, cherry tomatoes are widely available — yet they’re often sad, mediocre little orbs, tasteless versions of what you want them to be. But come summertime, it’s a different story. Cherry tomatoes are flavor bombs that explode with tomato-y goodness.
Which is why I’ve been buying them by the pint every time I go to the grocery store and putting them in everything lately, from stir-fries to scrambled eggs. Seems like there’s nothing that can’t be improved with a few cherry tomatoes.
Plus, right now they come in all sorts of colors — from the traditional red to yellow and orange and even deep eggplant purples and swirly heirloom varieties, which beg for a mix-up of all of them in one salad bowl or a skillet of pasta.
When it comes to summer cherry tomatoes, I never say no.
Have you seen the pear-shaped ones? Cuter than cute. Plus, they come in teensy round shapes and oblong, too, like baby Romas.
They’re faster, sweeter, better, less watery and far less messy than the big boys; you can eat them like candy, just as they are. Dip them into hummus. Squash them with your hands and make a salsa (call it rustic). Make a cherry tomato salad. Or put them on a pizza with some goat cheese and fresh herbs.
Do this while you can. Before the good ones are gone and it’s back to the imposters.
Ellise Pierce is the author of “Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking With a French Accent” (Running Press, $25). www.cowgirlchef.com; @cowgirlchef.
Cherry tomato and mozzarella flatbread
Makes 4 flatbreads
▪ 2 1/2 cups flour
▪ 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
▪ 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
▪ 8 ounces water
▪ 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
▪ 8 cherry tomatoes
▪ 12 small mozzarella balls
▪ Fresh basil, for serving
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add water and olive oil, and with your hands, a wooden spoon or a mixer, work the dough until it’s a smooth mass. Divide dough into four pieces. (If you’re not going to make the flatbreads right away, put dough in a plastic bag with a drizzle of olive oil and refrigerate. It’ll keep for a day or two.)
2. Cut cherry tomatoes into 1/4-inch slices and cut mozzarella balls in half.
3. Put one piece of dough onto a piece of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. Roll dough out into an oblong, football shape as thin as you can. Make indentations with your thumb in the dough where you’d like the tomatoes and mozzarella to go and place them in the pockets, pressing down slightly to secure them to the dough. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the edges are brown. Drizzle with olive oil and torn basil leaves.
Nutritional analysis per flatbread: 544 calories, 25 grams fat, 62 grams carbohydrates, 17 grams protein, 38 milligrams cholesterol, 482 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber, 41 percent of calories from fat.
Cherry tomato and basil vinaigrette
Makes about 2 cups
▪ 4 tablespoons olive oil
▪ 1 clove garlic, minced
▪ 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
▪ Pinch red pepper flakes
▪ 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
▪ A splash of red wine vinegar
▪ Salt
1. Put olive oil, garlic, basil and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until you can smell the garlic and basil, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add cherry tomatoes and reduce heat to medium-low. Slowly cook tomatoes until they soften, about 15 minutes. Add vinegar and salt to taste and remove from heat to cool. Serve on top of roasted or grilled veggies, fish or chicken.
Nutritional analysis per 2-tablespoon serving: 34 calories, 3 grams fat, 1 gram carbohydrates, trace protein, no cholesterol, 10 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 87 percent of calories from fat.serving.
Oven-roasted cherry tomatoes
Makes 2 pints
Use these as a garnish in soups, tomato or otherwise; on sandwiches; in salads; on toast with ricotta and a few drops of olive oil, served as an appetizer; or puréed and made into a cherry tomato pesto and folded into a pasta.
▪ 2 pints cherry tomatoes
▪ Olive oil
▪ Fresh thyme, to taste
▪ Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
1. Heat oven to 100 degrees. Slice cherry tomatoes in half and lay them, insides-up, on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, using just enough to get a few drops on each tomato. Sprinkle with a little thyme and salt and pepper — less is more here, because you don’t want to overwhelm the flavor of the tomatoes.
2. Roast tomatoes for 3 hours, or until they begin to shrivel and shrink. Let them cool completely and store in the refrigerator for a week in olive oil.
Nutritional analysis per 2-tablespoon serving: 15 calories, 1 gram fat, 1 gram carbohydrates, trace protein, no cholesterol, 10 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 87 percent of calories from fat.serving.
Cabbage and cherry tomato salad with miso-tahini sauce
Makes 2 servings
▪ 2 to 3 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage
▪ 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
▪ Half of an avocado, chopped
▪ Miso-tahini sauce, recipe follows
▪ Black sesame seeds, for serving
Divide cabbage, tomatoes and avocado chunks between two serving plates. Spoon a couple of tablespoons miso-tahini sauce on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Nutritional analysis per serving:115 calories, 8 grams fat, 10 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, no cholesterol, 23 milligrams sodium, 4 grams dietary fiber, 60 percent of calories from fat.
Miso-tahini sauce
Makes about 1 cup
▪ 2 tablespoons tahini
▪ 1/2 tablespoon red miso paste
▪ A few drops of sesame oil
▪ About 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
▪ 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
▪ 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Put all of the ingredients in a bowl. Whisk in as much warm water as needed — I used 1 to 2 tablespoons — to reach a pourable, somewhat thin consistency.
Nutritional analysis per 2-tablespoon serving: 36 calories, 3 grams fat, 2 grams carbohydrates, trace protein, trace cholesterol, 54 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 77 percent of calories from fat.
This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 10:03 AM with the headline "The Cowgirl Chef: You say tomato, I say cherry tomato."