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Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a delicious and welcome sign that summer is here!

And they crop right through until the first frosts of autumn.

Anyone who has tried home-grown / veg box tomatoes will know their flavour and texture is vastly superior to standard supermarket tomatoes.

This is because the home-grown / veg box are left to ripen on the plant, rather than being picked too early, ripened artificially and then transported for days or even weeks, in cold storage. That's why supermarket tomatoes often have a "floury" texture.

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About Tomatoes

Tomatoes were originally native to South America, though they are now most closely associated with Italian cooking.

They grow extremely well in Mediterranean countries. But even in the UK, you can achieve a respectable harvest of cherry tomatoes in a tub - or larger varieties in a green house or conservatory.

They are a member of the deadly nightshade family of plants, which includes potatoes, aubergine and peppers. Though thought of as a vegetable, they are technically a berry.

A fresh tomato is a great source of vitamin C and vitamin A.

Tomatoes are also one of the best sources of lycopene, which has cancer-fighting properties. Lycopene is more easily absorbed by the body in a lightly cooked form, so fresh tomato sauces are a great way to eat this. If you prefer raw tomatoes, include a little olive oil in the recipe, which will also help with absoption.

How To Choose

Choose firm (gives slightly under light pressure), bright red tomatoes to eat first, as these are the most ripe. A soft "squidgy" tomato won't keep well, so if you've got some of these in your box, use them first.

If your tomatoes seem a bit hard and under-ripe, it only takes a couple of days and a banana to ripen tomatoes.

How To Store

Store tomatoes in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just remember to take them out about an hour before eating, to enhance the flavour and juiciness.

How To Use

Raw tomatoes taste best at room temperature, so try to leave them to aclimatise for an hour or so after removing from the fridge.

You can make a simple tomato salad by drizzling sliced tomatoes with olive oil.

You can make a delicious, quick topping for toast, for a light lunch, by slicing the tomatoes in half and cooking them in a little butter, until they soften and the juices flow.

If, at the end of the season, you can find a supply of green tomatoes, you can either ripen them or turn them into delicious green tomato chutney.

How To Skin Tomatoes

Wash the tomatoes
Make 2 cuts in each tomato, about an inch across
Plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for about 1 minute
Drain carefully and plunge into cold water for about 1 minute
This should cause the skins to split and curl, making it easier to peel them
Pull the skins off with your fingers. Use a sharp knife to loosen any stubborn pieces

How To Ripen Tomatoes

Wash and dry the tomatoes. Discard any with splits or bruises
Put the tomatoes in a paper bag or in a drawer lined with paper
Add a ripe banana to the drawer. It emits a chemical that will speed up the ripening process
After a few days, the tomatoes will be ripening
Use them as soon as you can, or chop and freeze for later use

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Suggested Recipes

Aubergine & Courgette Bake	This is a great way of using up spare courgettes and aubergines, towards the end of the veg box's week. And it's so easy!
Autumn Pancakes With Blue Cheese Sauce	This delicious pancake recipe is a filling meal on a cold evening. The tomato-based filling is quick and the blue cheese topping goes wonderfully creamy in the oven. Enjoy!
Autumn Pizza	Don't be put off making your own pizza by thinking it's complicated - it's actually really simple. This one uses autumn veg box ingredients to make a delicious topping.
Autumn Vegetable Soup	This is a great way of using up the end of your veg box. It works well with most vegetables. It's a tasty, but healthy recipe, because you don't even need to use any fat. Just prepare the veggies, chuck them in a pan with the stock and stir occasionally. My kind of after-work cooking!
Broad Bean Couscous	This couscous is delicious and packed with protein and superfoods. A great way to boost your immune system!
Broad Beans Rice Salad	This rice salad is spiced up with early summer veggies - fresh tomatoes, broad beans and extra nutrients from kidney beans. The optional dressing adds to the nutty flavour of the brown rice and the whole thing takes just 20 minutes! If you don't fancy a lemon dressing, you can mix in Cheddar cheese instead!
Broad Beans Salad	This is an unusual way of serving broad beans, but makes a lovely change. This is a peppery salad, making the most of the freshest early summer ingredients.
Bruschetta With Tomato Salsa	Late summer’s tomatoes are usually packed with flavour and really juicy. This recipe makes the most of them, adding fresh herbs and as much or little chilli as you want, to spice up a lunch time snack. If you don’t have bruschetta, this also works well with ciabatta or French stick bread.
Courgette With Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce	This recipe is a scrummy way of enjoying courgettes - particulary if you fancy a change. The sun-dried tomatoes and wholegrain mustard bring out the sunshine flavour of the summer veggies.
Creamy Mushrooms	These creamy mushrooms have a hint of balsamic vinegar and tomato, to give them even more flavour. They're ideal with toast, for a light lunch, or maybe as a jacket potato topping.
Fresh Tomato Sauce	Whether you're using a veg box, growing your own, or making the most of cheaper prices for in-season tomatoes, this fresh tomato sauce is a great way of using and storing ripe tomatoes.
Garlic Runner Beans	The garlic and butter beans add a creamy flavour to the runner beans. This is a lovely way to serve runner beans, particularly if you're getting bored with just steaming or boiling them.
Home Made Beans On Toast	Homemade beans on toast are packed with flavour and taste quite different to the canned variety. They’re a wonderful treat for lunch or a light supper.
Leek And Red Onion Canneloni	This delicious autumn recipe uses in-season leeks and red onions, to make a change from the usual spinach and ricotta canneloni.
Lentil Dahl	This is a warming autumn supper, packed with nutrients from the lentils and veggies, giving your system a real boost.
Lentil Spag Bol	Spaghetti Bolognese doesn't have to be reserved for meat-eaters. If you fancy a change, this veggie option is delicious. And it's a good way of using up spare veg box tomatoes and onions. See the variations for ideas of how to use up spare carrots, mushrooms or even runner beans in this dish.
Marinated Mushrooms	This marinated mushroom recipe makes a delicious change and works well with fresh onions.
Melanzane Parmigiano	Parmesan-baked aubergine. Simply delicious. If you're one of the many who's not convinced by the humble aubergine, I suggest you give this one a go.
Parsnip And Chickpea Curry	This is a great way to use winter root vegetables. Cooked slowly, they can develop a lovely sweet flavour, which works well as a curry.
Rocket And Sun-Dried Tomato Salad	Early spring rocket is a great salad vegetable – packed with peppery flavour and vitamins. Spice it up with this delicious dressing, topped off by the sweetness of sun-dried tomatoes.
Root Veg And Bean Stew	This ragout (stew) is great because, after the initial cooking, you just bung it in the oven and get on with something else.
Secret Vegetable Pasta	This pasta recipe is a great way of using up seasonal veg box leftovers. And it's a great way of sneaking in some extra veggies without any fussy eaters noticing! This version uses runner beans and courgettes.
Spiced Runner Beans	Finely sliced runner beans are such a tender and delicious vegetable and these Indian-style spices really bring out the flavour. Quick to make and excellent with rice or to accompany other Indian dishes.
Spinach And Potato Curry	If you've got some spare spinach and fancy a filling evening meal, this one is easy to make. It's similar to the Indian Sag Aloo. It also works well with Swiss chard, instead of spinach.
Stunningly Simple Tomato Salad	A simple tomato salad, making the most of in-season tomatoes. The great thing about this recipe is that it's easy to grow the tomatoes, spring onions and basil yourself - even if you don't have a garden. They'll all do well in pots, if they have to.
Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus Sandwiches	This is a delicious way of enjoying hummus, with the sweetness of the sundried tomatoes and the crunchiness of the seeds. Chickpeas mean it's packed with vitamins and gives you a great energy boost for hours afterwards - and it only takes 5 minutes to make!
Three Bean Summer Soup	This is a delicious summer soup. Lighter than those of winter, it makes the most of the new season’s vegetables, whilst still filling you up and being wonderfully warming. You can use haricot beans or butter beans for this recipe, depending which you prefer. The main thing is to stick to what’s in season with the vegetables. That way they’ll be packed with flavour – and good for you too!
Tomatillo Salsa	This recipe for Mexican green tomatillo salsa is delicious, either as a relish or as a sauce with potatoes or pasta. It's made using green tomatillo, which is immature and unripe, rather than the yellow, ripe tomatillo.
Tomato And Artichoke Brunch	This tomato and artichoke brunch recipe was inspired by a glut of fresh, ripe tomatoes and the arrival of a jar of pickled artichokes from Suma, our wholesaler. It's so quick to make and it's absolutely delicious.
Tomato And Avocado Salad	Late summer is a time when many veg box schemes and home veg growers have a glut of tomatoes. If you’ve got some that are really ripe and full of flavour, then this simple salad is really delicious.
Tomato And Roast Garlic Soup	This soup is absolutely delicious with full-flavoured, ripe, in-season tomatoes. Bear in mind it’s not supposed to taste like tinned tomato soup – this is the real thing – home made tomato soup, with roasted garlic & onions and fresh herbs. It’s got plenty of garlic in, but roasting it mellows the flavour.
Tomato And Rocket Risotto	This is a deliciously peppery risotto recipe, using in-season rocket and tomatoes. The Puy lentils give it a nutritious boost.
Tomato Tart	This delicious tomato tart is really quick to make and tastes great with juicy, ripe summer tomatoes.
Warm Summer Courgette & Runner Bean Salad With Artichoke Hearts	This delicious summer salad is best served warm. The courgettes and runner beans take on a buttery flavour, enhanced by the creaminess of the artichoke hearts.
Winter Vegetable Minestrone Soup	Minestrone is a traditional, chunky soup, served with soup pasta. We often think of it as a summer dish, but with a little lateral thinking, you can create a soup that brightens up any winter’s day.

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