Slow and Low Isn’t Always Preferred
For real, I’m not just trying to pimp out 100 Ways to Use a Tomato. I also am a tomato lover and need ideas on what to do with all of the tomatoes laying claim to my kitchen. Because I am a virtual worker I also have time to cook during the day, or at least be watchful of items while they are cooking.
This means I can finally soak and cook beans and not rely on cans. I can cook down tomatoes for a thick sauce. And while we’re on tomatoes, I can roast tomatoes in a low, slow oven. (And please give me suggestions for other dishes I can cook all day.)
I spied my inspiration in the third row, second column of the 100 tomatoes post: a parade of shriveled, red splotches.
Kale, Corn and Roasted Tomato Salad
I skimped a bit on ingredients compared to Simple Bites’ version. I only used salt, pepper and oil on the tomatoes, omitting the garlic and thyme. I did however, test out a companion for the tomato: tiny onions. I split the onions in half and dressed them the same as the tomatoes. At 225 degrees for over 4 hours, these guys had plenty of time to dry out. The tomatoes worked out well, although I wish I pulled them 30 minutes earlier. The onion (final product here) turned a bit dry on the edges, but was mostly soft and sweet.
It definitely didn’t need that treatment. I’m not sure if they would have turned out better if kept whole or simply didn’t need that much cooking time. I’ll have to keep experimenting with these abundantly sweet onions from Smallwood Veggieporium at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market.
When I started this venture I wasn’t sure where the tomatoes and onions would end up. Eventually they starred in a salad that ended up being stuffed in tacos. The rest of the salad consisted of kale: kept raw; corn: scraped from the cob and browned in oil with plenty of salt; bell and poblano peppers: charred on a scarily hot pan, then diced; and purple basil, roughly chopped.
Dress with yogurt mixed with: a variety of hot peppers, sliced horizontally to keep in a wagon wheel shape (imagine the membranes and seeds as spokes); white wine vinegar, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Grape tomatoes, purple basil, corn, kale, it all looks great!
Bon appetit!
=:~)
Off topic, but why do you soak your beans? Doesn’t that wash out nutrients? I’ve never soaked mine – only a quick rinse to wash off dirt.
The salad looks great, btw. Paste tomatoes also roast really well, because they are more fleshy and less seedy inside. They condense into a super nice tomatoey – for lack of a better word – flavor.
nice once again; can’t wait for toms to ripen up to try different recipes
thanks chef!
and nee nee – i’m talking about dried beans, not canned beans. can beans i just give a quick rinse (although once in a while i use the juice in there, even jacques pepin does!)
and what are paste tomatoes?
Yep, me too. I haven’t bought canned beans in years. I never soak them before cooking. Rick Bayless (OMG don’t get me started on how much I love him) also recommends non-soaking.
Paste tomatoes…popular varieties are San Marzano and Roma. They have less water than slicers, which also means they turn into paste quicker. It’s pretty cool to make your own paste to have on hand. It’s not exactly a top 100 recipe, but paste-making is another way to process a bunch o’maters.
I had this salad and it is DIVINE! Thanks for leaving some with me! I’ve already had it twice today!
Also, for people like me who are a bit squirmish about tomatoes – with the seeds and the juice squirting out – roasting them really solves these issues!
wait… i’m confused as to how having a day job prevents the soaking of beans.
well, its just that i have more flexibility now. its not like i have to remember to do it during the morning rush to leave my apartment. i can remember at 11am.
I love these! But now I have leftovers (bumper crop of yellow pears. : ) Do you recommend storing in the fridge? How long will they keep in a sealed container on the table – not counting what we keep eating right out of the jar.
@SK – how about yellow gazpacho?
http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2010/08/05/uniformly-different-uniformly-delicious/