Even a copy editor has to eat, and it’s summer, after all. So here’s a recipe that can go nicely with that Polenta recipe I gave you a while back, or by itself. And it’s a great way to use a few quarts of those gorgeous small tomatoes any gardener is drowning in, producing a rich, red dish that explodes against the roof of the mouth with every hot forkful.
Cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, olive oil. Maybe a dash of salt, and of sugar if your tomatoes are on the acidic side.
If you’re using bulb onions (white or red) chop a couple tablespoons and fry until soft but not brown, adding the garlic towards the end. The amount of garlic varies by the tolerance levels of the diners—start with one piece and work up from there in future batches. If you’re using green onions, just fry those and the garlic for a minute.
Turn up the heat and add the rinsed tomatoes, stirring occasionally until the smell of garlic and whatever herbs you threw in makes you drool over the stove, and until the skins of the tomatoes are beginning to split. If you’re putting them over polenta or pasta, you might want to let them go just a bit softer.
A pint makes a side-dish for three or four. Or two if they’re big tomato (or garlic) lovers.
Kerry says
August 29, 2007 at 8:45 amI don’t know about drooling all over the stove, but the description alone has me drooling all over my keyboard. I’m making this pronto, as soon as I can get to the farmer’s market again! I’ve got buckets of sage, rosemary, oregano, and basil growing outside my front door just waiting to be used.
If I may also suggest, this sounds like something that would go great with grains such as wheat berries or quinoa.
Bronwyn says
August 29, 2007 at 8:46 amI make my pizza sauce this way – I just make sure to crush the tomatoes really well, and occasionally use a handmixer to smooth it out. Weirdly enough, I made it last night!
corgimom says
August 29, 2007 at 11:07 amI’m drooling and I can’t even eat tomatoes! I will make this for others to enjoy, though. Thanks for sharing another great recipe!
Kerry says
September 3, 2007 at 4:59 pmI fixed this today — modified a bit with a dash of red pepper flakes and a zucchini, then heaped on top of homemade whole-wheat pizza dough into which I (and my bread machine) mixed the same herbs as went into the tomatoes. Talk about a drool-fest! Thanks, Laurie, for the inspiration (and I think I now know where Lee gets her recipes . . .)
admin says
September 3, 2007 at 6:16 pm…but how to explain poor Russell, who can’t boil water without burning it?
Kerry says
September 4, 2007 at 6:57 pmWell, clearly, Lee (and Jon) got all the cooking chops. Russell, I’m guessing, doesn’t have the personality for lengthy, meditative pursuits — and I’m convinced that that’s what good cooking really is. Just as she apparently doesn’t do fancy needlework or play a musical instrument
What’s really interesting about Russell is that she can conduct perfectly good chemistry experiments which, according to at least one of my own chemistry TA’s, is just like cooking. Now, in my case, that explained why I couldn’t do the experiments — at the time, I was even less of a cook than I am now. In Russell’s case, it should mean that she can at least follow a simple recipe, even if she doesn’t care to very often . . .