Cherry tomato bolognese and smashed tomato sauce

 

Every year it seems like the tomatoes won't start and then it seems like they just won't stop. At some point, you realize that you need to start taking outside a bigger bowl for the haul we pick after we stop work each day. 

Mind you, the big tomatoes have yet to really get with the program. But the cherry cherries? They're insane. Especially the Candyland red tomato I got as part of Totally Tomatoes Little Bites collection.

I've never been one of those people who have so many cherry tomatoes they don't know what to do with them, even when I bring in multiple pints a day, because there are so many delightful things to do with them. Fresh tomato salsa, vats of tomato confit to put up in the freezer, and innumerable pasta options. Here are a few more I tried recently.

 

 

Late summer Bolognese

Adapted from Bon Appetit Sept. 2020

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

¼ white wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 pints cherry tomatoes

1 red chili (I used Fresno) thinly sliced

1 pound rigatoni or bucatini

1 tablespoon butter

¼ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

1½ cups basil leaves, torn if in large pieces

Method

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add chicken, season with salt, and cook until only a slight bit of pink remains, stirring occasionally to break up chicken.

 Add white wine and cook over medium low heat until wine is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.

 Add tomatoes and chile and cook until tomatoes begin to burst. Smash some of them with the back of a spoon to make a sauce and cook until somewhat thickened.

 Meanwhile, cook pasta until just al dente. Drain into sauce mixture, adding more cooking liquid if needed. Add butter and Parmesan. Add most of basil and toss together. Serve garnished with remaining basil and some more Parmesan.

Rating: Dave really liked this one. I thought it was a fine cross between a traditional, hours-cooked meaty bolognese and fresh tomato sauce.  It's certainly faster, and it bought me a lot more space back on my countertop that was covered with plates of little tomatoes.

 

 

Burst cherry tomato sauce

Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2020

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

6 thinly sliced garlic cloves

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

4 pints cherry tomatoes

2 large basil sprigs plus 1 cup basil leaves

1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

12 ounces fettucine or linguine

½ cup Parmesan cheese, divided

Method

Start water to boil for pasta. Cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until just fragrant. Add tomatoes, basil sprigs and salt. Cook over medium heat, covered, until tomatoes start to burst. Uncover and smash some of the tomatoes with a back of a spoon and cook until a sauce forms.

Add drained pasta, most of the Parmesan cheese and the basil leaves. Season to taste with salt and serve garnished with remaining Parmesan.

Rating: Couldn't get much simpler or tastier. A definite entry into the weeknight summer rotation. Feel free to toss in which ever herb you've got the most of right now.

 

Blueberry pancetta flatbread

When I think of blueberries and pie in the same sentence, this recipe isn't ordinarily what comes to mind. It struck me as just odd enough to work either really well or not at all. Luckily, it's still blueberry season in Bayfield by way of the Midtown Farmers Market.

Blueberry flatbread

Adapted from a recipe in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, in turn adapted from the blueberrycouncil.org

Ingredients

Pizza dough to make one large rectangular crust, about a pound

1 cup grated mozzarella, divided (smoked is nice, if you’ve got it)

¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola or other blueish cheese

4 ounces diced pancetta, cooked and drained (can substitute bacon)

½ red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped, divided

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Shape dough into a large rectangle and place on a baking stone that’s been sprinkled with cornmeal.

Sprinkle half the mozzarella over the crust, then sprinkle on Gorgonzola, pancetta and scatter red onion over the top. Bake for 12-15 minutes until crust is cooked and nearly golden. Remove from oven. Sprinkle blueberries over the top and half the rosemary. Scatter remaining mozzarella over the top and return to the oven for about 2 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with remaining rosemary. Serve warm.

Rating: This totally worked for us. Really nice mix of savory with those nearly pie-in-a-berry blueberries. And, well, pancetta. Super fun way to make sure the blueberries don't got to waste.

Savory oatmeal with mushrooms, ginger and charred onions

Who says oats have to be for breakfast? In the time of the pandemic pantry, it's time to rethink some staple stereotypes.

Sesame-ginger oats with mushrooms and charred green onions

From Better Homes & Gardens, October 2016. The recipe notes that you could sub in other grainish-type items in this recipe, such as buckwheat, barley or quinoa.

Note: As written, this recipe would serve 1 as a main dish, or 2 somewhat skimpily as a side dish, so you may well want to double it from the get-go.

Ingredients

1 cup chicken broth (or slightly more, if you like creamier oats)

½ cup steel cut oats

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided

1 cup chopped assorted mushrooms

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Crushed red pepper flakes

Method

In a small saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in oats. Cook, uncovered on medium low heat for 25 to 30 minutes until oats are tender, thickened and creamy, stirring as needed.

Meanwhile, in a skillet heat 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and ginger and cook 3 to 4 minutes until tender. Remove from pan to a small bowl.

In same skillet, heat remaining oil. Cook green onions a few minutes over medium high heat or until slightly charred. Remove from heat.

Stir mushrooms into cooked oats. Serve topped with green onions, soy sauce and crushed red pepper.

Rating: You wind up with something that’s risotto-like in texture, with considerably less hands-on monitoring. A quick fix, and one you can readily imagine modifying as needed. Basically, it's a blank slate for flavors. The sesame-ginger flavoring works well, but any flavor profile you like could work.

Summer garden tour at home

Thalita roselilies have a pleasant fragrance. Just be prepared to dodge hungry bumblebees if you want a whiff.

Summer at home has its compensations. But honestly, I thought I would have more time to weed now. Cue derisive laughter. I just squint at the blooms instead.

Some 25 years ago, Sonja brought us a "shrubbery' as a housewarming present. It has stayed bought.

These lilies have been in the same pot since the lat 1990s. I just keep adding more dirt as needed.

Pinks!

Daylilies are so reliable. Bless them.

I have a bit of a clematis obsession. Can a gal have too many trellises? Don't answer that.

This guy so doesn't fit the color scheme. But he was here when we moved in, so he gets to stay.

Chicken thighs with burst tomato harissa sauce and feta

There's a point in the summer when we finally get our first taste of truly ripe tomatoes where it seems like sacrilege to do anything but just eat them raw. We spend a few weeks in a rotation of fresh tomato pasta sauce, salad Caprese along side corn on the cob, and of course BLTs. Heaven.

But eventually, I'm willing to cook them, and now that I'm starting to get a daily harvest of cherry tomatoes from the garden, it was time to try this recipe.

It called for oregano, but my herb plant shopping was a little disrupted by the pandemic this year, and for once, I didn't have any volunteer oregano or marjoram. But I did have volunteer lemon basil, and that worked perfectly in this recipe.

Chicken thighs with tomatoes and feta

Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2020

Ingredients

6 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)

½ teaspoon plus of salt

2 pints cherry tomatoes

¼ cup harissa paste

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 sprigs oregano or basil, divided

4 ounces  feta, cut into rough chunks

1 tablespoon red or white wine, optional

Method

Pat chicken thighs dry. Sprinkle with salt. Place skin-side down in a large cast-iron skillet or other pan that allows you to get a good brown crispy skin. Cook over medium heat until well browned, about 15 minutes, leaving chicken undisturbed, but rotating pan for even browning.  Transfer to a plate, skin-side up.

 In same skillet, combine tomatoes, harissa, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt and 1 herb sprig. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes burst. Nestle chicken among the tomatoes, skin-side up, and cook over medium low heat until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees at the bone) and sauce is thickened. Depending on how juicy your tomatoes are, you might need a tablespoon of wine to make the proper sauce consistency.

Let rest for a few minutes off the heat. Sprinkle with feta and the leaves from the remaining herb sprigs.

Rating: Super simple, super good, super popular with the in-house taste tester. Good weeknight family supper, but fine enough for house-guest company, too. Harissa gives it a nice, but mild kick.This one is going in the rotation.