Just like in Week 11, we got a ton of tomatoes in this week’s farm share. We’re eating tomatoes in everything, from breakfast quiche to salsas. Not that I’m complaining!
This week, I decided to roast the majority of the tomatoes and have super-easy instructions for you to try it yourself. But before we get to that, let’s take a look at what other vegetables turned up in Week 12.
Week 12 Haul:
- Corn
- Squash
- Green beans
- Braising greens
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Parsley
What Rolled Over?
I held onto the small head of green cabbage we got in Week 11 so that I could make a recipe for grilled cabbage wedges with spicy lime dressing that The Kitchn recirculated late last week. We don’t have a grill because we live in a tiny New York City apartment, but I do have a heavy-bottomed grill pan that did the job nicely.
Tomato Count:
This week: 54
Season to date: 127
Lots of small tomatoes this year, which is making our tomato count go haywire. This week we got 6 medium tomatoes and 1 quart of assorted red, orange and yellow varieties that contained a total of 48 tomatoes. Even though it’s quite hot out, I decided to turn on the oven and roast those little beauties.
What I Made (Italics represent CSA vegetables used)
- Corn and tomato salsa
- Tomato, basil, turkey bacon and shallot quiche
- Steak pizzaiola (check out the recipe here) with garlicky braising greens and Italian bread for dipping
- Grilled chicken salad with lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, and corn salsa
- Chicken sausage with sautéed summer squash, and roasted tomatoes over polenta
- The Kitchn’s grilled cabbage with spicy lime dressing, sesame string beans and bell peppers, teriyaki chicken, jasmine rice
Technique of the Week: Cut Back on Fat by Using Less Cooking Oil
When it comes to using cooking oils, such as olive oil or canola oil, the standard measure in many recipes is to start with a tablespoon. But is all that oil really necessary? I’ve found that it’s really not. So I’ve swapped my tablespoon for a teaspoon as my go-to when cooking vegetables or mixing up a marinade for chicken or pork, and would encourage you to try it as well. Not much is lost by way of flavor or moisture by cutting back, but switching from a tablespoon of oil to a teaspoon will save you almost 80 calories a pop. Best of all, using less oil allows the flavor of those wonderful summertime vegetables to really shine through in your dishes.
Standout Dish of the Week: Roasted Tomatoes
Roasting is a great way to showcase summer tomatoes and offers the perfect excuse to try out using less oil in dishes that generally call for quite a bit of it. For the batch I made this week, I only used two teaspoons of olive oil to a pint of tomatoes, making the dish a low-calorie side to go with chicken sausage and polenta.
The roasting time will depend entirely on how juicy your tomatoes are, and how roasted you prefer them to be. Start checking the tomatoes after 20 minutes to gauge doneness, allowing more cooking time in 5-10 minute intervals until they reach your desired level of roastiness.
Roasted Tomatoes Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and halve or quarter, depending on size, a pint of small tomatoes. Coat a baking sheet or dish with a small amount of cooking spray. Toss the tomatoes with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and place them cut-side-down in the dish. Sprinkle liberally with salt and place in the oven for 20 minutes before checking to determine if they need more time.
Serve as a topping for meat, pasta or polenta, or use as a spread for toast. Roasted tomatoes can also be turned into salsa and paired with cut up vegetables or tortilla chips.
Join me here each week, as well as on Twitter and Instagram, as I wash, chop, cook and eat my way through my CSA using the hashtag #CSASurvival. Got questions for me? Ask away!
