what to do with tomatoes?

we've been left in charge of a friends house while they decorate their new one and we've been told to pick their cherry tomatoes and use them. Trouble is, theres a punnet a day! and only one of us in the house who really likes tomatoes.

We've given loads away, but I was wondering about homemade tomato soup? Has anyone here ever made any? I could pluck a recipe off the net, but I'd rather have a tried and tested one.

TIA

 

There are many many recipes for tom soup, I'll give you some rough quantities, but as an ex chef...I make mine by eye (ie, that looks enough).

Chop a couple of onions and slow fry on a low heat, they will go transluscent and start to brown, the slow low fry brings out their sweetness.

Chop a few carrots into small dice and add to the onions, also chop up a couple of rashers of bacon 2 cloves of garlic and a stick of celery and add, continue slow frying for around five minutes. Half or quarter around a kilo (2lbs) of tomato's and add to the pan, stir these in as they cook down, you probably wont need any stock but you can add chicken or veg stock if you wish, you can also add any herbs you may want too such as Parsley Basil, Oregano and a couple of bay leaves, basically whatever you have. Cook the soup out for around 20 mins then liquidise, then pass through a strainer, but not a fine mesh one. Using the back of a ladle squish the contents of the strainer to extract as much of the liquid into the soup as you can, what you have strained..is your soup!

This should give you around four portions of delicious homemade soup, serve with croutons and a swirl of cream/creme fraiche.

Steve...

 

I'll get my coat and see you in time for tea tomorrow, Steve :WINK1:

that sounds very yummy, thanks Might even try it myself (I like tomato soup and ketchup, but not tomatoes-yeh I know, I'm weird...) :o

 

cheers marley, we use lots of ketchup here, my son practically drinks the stuff!

 

I have a similar attitude to cooking, but unfortunately its "fck it, that'll do!"

 

Try homemade tomato soup and you realise that that tinned stuff is just .... well 'stuff'.

When I've got a glut of toms, I make Tomato Relish - use it as a sweet/mild pickle with cold meat and it's also great with burgers, sausages etc.

 

Salsa, and freeze it.

 

hmmm, tomato relish. reminds me of when my eldest was small and she picked all the green tomatoes off the plants! I had to make green tomato chutney! :DOH: little beggar.

she also used to pick the red flowers off all the runner beans so we got very few. wish she'd do that now, we've got pounds of them and I'm having to blanche them and freeze them. Oh and I swapped some for apples to make wine with, so it's not all bad.

Just wish hubby would grow more of what we all like & not just tons of the stuff HE likes! :gaagh:

but I must admit I'm looking forward to my brother in laws plums at the weekend (more wine) :WINK1:

 

try making some tomato jam

used to buy it in south africa ... (we also used to get grape jam which I have not seen here)

nice on toast with a slice of extra mature cheddar cheese, or some grated machego cheese

loads of recipes on google and easy to make

 

i know they do JWK, they've been having some since they're going off before I can use them all. But they're mostly yellow cherry toms lol

tomato jam? never heard of it. I'm (hopefully) doing a car boot soon to raise holiday funds, maybe I should make some tommy stuff and sell it?

 

Just as a BTW - years ago when we were on holiday in Guernsey, we visited 'The Tomato Museum' (I believe, sadly, like most of Guernsey's 'attractions', it no longer exists). However, there you could try/buy the most unlikely products made from tomatoes including something called 'Aztecato' - a tomato wine. Ye gods, it was 'orrible! If you translate the smell you get on your fingers when pinching out side shoots of tomato plants, into a 'flavour', then that was how the wine tasted.

Unbelieveably, I recall them telling us they'd sold over 200 gallons of the stuff ... presumably, a great many drains needed unblocking since I can think of no other, or indeed better, use for it!

 

tomato wine! from your description, i think i'll give it a miss