Tomato Salad

 It seems like tomatoes just taste as good as I remember them as a child. This salad - or dressing lifts them to a higher level of yum...and its super easy.

Ingredients

• 1 kg tomatoes (I like to use a mix of varieties)
• 1/2 small red onion peeled
• 10 g fresh basil plus extra for serving
• 2 garlic cloves peeled
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Chop the smaller tomatoes into halves and the larger ones into quarters. It’s quite nice to have a mixture of different sizes here, so don’t worry about making them all perfectly even.

2. Combine the red onion, basil, garlic and a good pinch of salt and black pepper in a food processor. Blitz into a rough paste, making sure it retains a some texture. Add it to the tomatoes along with the olive oil, red wine vinegar and another big pinch of salt. Give everything a good stir, then let the salad marinate for at least 20 minutes, or for up to 4 hours.
3. Spoon into a serving dish, avoiding any tomato juice left at the bottom of the mixing bowl. Serve topped with an extra crack of black pepper and a few sprigs of fresh basil.

Harvest Tomato Sauce

This recipe is a summer must make with all the tomatoes we have growing. We have been eating a lot of tomatoes recently.

This recipe is super easy...it needs at least the 2 hours baking time.

I add whatever extra veges I have and make a huge bulk lot - then preserve in jars for a quick meal starter.


I served it with spaghetti but any kid of pasta would work. I also served it with prawns quickly fried in oil and garlic.


It's an Annabel Langbein recipe 



Ingredients

• 1.5kg tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges

• 2 red capsicums, deseeded and cut into eighths

• 1 large onion, cut into thin wedges

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled (or add whole un-pealed head of garlic and squeeze out at the end)

• 1 tsp chopped rosemary leaves

• 1 small chilli, seeded and chopped (optional)

• ¼ cup tomato paste

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp salt 

• ground black pepper

Method


Preheat oven to 160°C. Prepare the tomatoes, capsicums and onion and place them in a large roasting dish lined with baking paper. They need to be in a single layer so they roast and caramelise rather than stew, so use two roasting dishes if necessary.

Add the garlic, rosemary leaves and chilli, if using. In a small bowl mix together the tomato paste, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spoon this mixture over the vegetables and stir through them to coat evenly.

Bake for about 2 hours or until the vegetables are starting to caramelise and shrivel a little.

Allow the vegetables to cool then purée in a food processor or blender. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week or can be frozen. Alternatively, bring the puréed sauce to a boil and while it is very hot, pour it into sterilised jars and seal immediately. Sealed jars will keep for months in the pantry.

RED LENTIL DAHL - Creamy & dreamy

 RED LENTIL DAHL - Creamy & dreamy

This one was a bit of a surprise...the fav dish out of 5 for an Indian feast night! Sooo easy, fast and really cheap to make. It was also really nice the next day heated up.

(the pic has spiced tofu on it...I didn't add that.

This one is an absolute make again!

Ingredients

* 2 tbsp oil
* 1 white onion, diced
* 5 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 tsp fresh ginger, minced
* 1 tsp turmeric
* 1 tsp ground coriander
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1 tsp paprika powder
* 1 tsp mustard powder
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 2 bay leaves
* Salt and pepper, to taste
* 300g dry red lentils
* 780ml veggie broth
* 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
* 1 can (400g) crushed tomatoes
* 2 tsp brown sugar
* Juice of 1 lime

Toppings:
* plain yoghurt
* Fresh cilantro
* Sliced green chili

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and sauté for 4–5 minutes until fragrant.
2. Add turmeric, coriander, cumin, paprika, mustard powder, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir for 1 minute to toast the spices.
3. Pour in the lentils and veggie broth. Stir, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Finish with brown sugar, lime juice, and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve the dahl in bowls topped with  yoghurt, fresh cilantro, and green chili.

GREEN OLIVE, LEMON AND OREGANO LABNE

 GREEN OLIVE, LEMON AND OREGANO LABNE

An easy, make ahead starter or 'nibbles' plate. I added oven dried tomatoes to the top and increased the amount of olives. 

The olives need to be in quite large chunks - eg 1 olive in quarters or sixths.

INGREDIENTS

1KG FARMERS UNION GREEK STYLE NATURAL YOGURT

• 
  
• ⅓ CUP (80G) FINELY CHOPPED PITTED GREEN SICILIAN OLIVES
• 
  
• 2 TEASPOONS FINELY GRATED LEMON RIND
• 
  
• ¼ TEASPOON TABLE SALT
• 
  
• ⅓ CUP (80ML) EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
• 
  
• ⅓ CUP (5G) OREGANO LEAVES
• 
  
• 1 TABLESPOON SHREDDED LEMON RIND, EXTRA
• 
  
• 1 TEASPOON ROUGHLY CRACKED BLACK PEPPER
• FLATBREAD OR CRACKERS, TO SERVE

METHOD

1. Line a colander with fine muslin or a clean cloth.
2. Place the yogurt, olives, lemon rind and salt in a bowl and mix until well combined. Pour into the prepared muslin, gather the edges to enclose and use kitchen string to secure.
3. Place over a deep bowl and refrigerate for 24–72 hours or until the labne is as firm as you would like.
4. Discard the drained liquid.
5. Remove the labne from the muslin and place on a serving plate. Using the back of a spoon, flatten the labne.
6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes or until the oil is hot. Add the oregano, extra lemon rind and pepper and cook for 30 seconds or until the oregano and lemon rind are crisp. Set aside to cool.
7. Spoon the oil, oregano and lemon rind over the labne and serve with flatbreads or crackers. Serves 6–8 as a starter

Sweet cherry tomato and sausage bake

Once again, this is a recipe to use up the tomatoes growing in my summer garden. Its from Jamie Oliver and has the benefit of being able to prepare ahead and being a 'one tray bake' meal.

I added a few extra herbs and vegetables that I had in the garden...basis, fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay and peppers/capscium and leeks.


I served it with baked potato - they cooked in oven at the same time and sweetcorn - the last of the season.
If you are cooking baked potatoes, put them in the oven at the same time as the tray first goes in.

Ingredients

• 2 kg lovely ripe cherry tomatoes , mixed colours if you can find them
• 2-3 Capscium chopped 
• 2-3 spring onion chopped
• 2 red onion chopped 

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 2 sprigs fresh bay

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

• 3 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped

• 12 higher-welfare Cumberland or coarse Italian pork sausages (I used some chicken and some beef)

• extra virgin olive oil

• balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C
2. Get yourself an appropriately sized roasting tray, large enough to take the tomatoes in one snug-fitting layer. Put in all your tomatoes, capscium, onion and spring onion, the herb sprigs, oregano, garlic. Drizzle well with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss together. Bake for about an hour.
3. Add the sausages are on top and pop the tray into the oven for half an hour. After this time, give it a shake and turn the sausages over. Put back into the oven for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how golden and sticky you like your sausages.
4. Once it’s cooked, you’ll have an intense, tomatoey sauce. If it’s a little too thin, lift out the sausages and place the tray on the hob to cook it down to the consistency you like – I tend to make mine quick thick – then put the sausages back in.
5. Check the seasoning and serve either with a good-quality loaf of bread warmed through in a low oven for 10 minutes (great for mopping up the sauce!) or with mashed potato, rice or polenta, a green salad and a nice glass of wine.

Sri Lankan fish and tomato curry

• 
  
• We get a delivery of fish once a week. This week it was Monk Fish  - perfect for a space or curry. I also had lots of tomatoes from my garden so I searched for a recipe and found this one. I only used a tiny tin of coconut milk and used lots more tomatoes. It was a really ice mild curry. We served it over brown rice.
  The lime wedge squeezed over it made a really big difference to the flavour.
  
  
  
  
  http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/sri-lankan-fish-tomato-curry/5545fd88-d63f-4720-874d-1307a0fccb68
  
  
  
  

Sri Lankan fish and tomato curry

• 
  
• 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 long green chillies, deseeded, chopped
• 4cm piece ginger, peeled, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 750g boneless thick white fish fillets, cut into 6cm pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large brown onion, chopped
• 2 cups coconut cream
• 20 fresh curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (see note)
• Steamed basmati rice, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve
• Thinly sliced red chillies, to serve
  
  

  METHOD

  • Step 1
    Process tomatoes, garlic, chillies, ginger, cumin, coriander and 1 teaspoon turmeric until just combined.
  • Step 2
    Pat fish dry with paper towel. Combine remaining 1 teaspoon turmeric and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle over both sides of fish.
  • Step 3
    Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over high heat until hot. Add fish. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until sealed and golden. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining oil to pan. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onion. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add pureed tomato mixture. Cook for 10 minutes or until oil begins to separate from mixture. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in coconut cream and curry leaves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.
  • Step 4
    Return fish to pan. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Stir in tamarind concentrate. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 minute. Serve with rice, lime wedges and chilli.

Primavera Stuffed Chicken

Primavera Stuffed Chicken

I came across this great simple video on Facebook and decided to give it a try. 

We didn't stick exactly to to all the ingredients adding caramelised onions, fresh mozzarella, tomato, capscium and basil leaves instead. I made about 5 slices into the chicken (but not all the way through)
We cooked the chicken for 25-30 minutes.
It looked really impressive but as super easy!



The video here explains how to do it easily.

Prawn curry with tomatoes and herbs

This was a super easy meal to make. I prepared  most of it in advance, then just before we ate added the beans and prawns - both were frozen. I'm not a big fan of pre-prepared curry powder but this helped make it quick and easy.

Ingredients

1 tsp canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 clove(s) fresh garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh ginger
1 whole fresh red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
2 tsp curry powder
3 medium fresh tomato, coarsely chopped (I used 1 400g tin)
1 cup  chicken stock (250ml)
150g green beans, trimmed, sliced diagonally
450g prawns (500g peeled), tails intact
150g dry rice noodles, vermicelli
1⁄3 cup (s)fresh coriander, coarsely chopped
1⁄4 cup(s) fresh mint, coarsely chopped

Instructions

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, ginger, chilli and curry powder and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook for 3–4 minutes or until softened.
Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Add beans and prawns and cook for 5 minutes or until beans are tender and prawns are cooked through.
Meanwhile, place noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 3–5 minutes or until softened. Drain.
Divide noodles among serving bowls and top with prawn curry. Serve sprinkled with coriander and mint.

5 points

Upside-down tomato tart with olive oil pastry

At this time of year my tomatoes always come on think and fast. After a week (probably more) or neglecting my garden due to work being really busy, it was time to use some of the produce this weekend.
I found this recipe on 'Bite' and gave it a try.
I was really really easy and quick. The pastry was crunchy and crumbly and the garlic and olive flavour came through strongly.
Yes, the olive are all in one section due to non olive eaters in the household!
We thought serving it with goats cheese might be a good addition next time.

Ingredients

12	Vine-ripened tomatoes
¾ cup	Flour, plus extra for dusting
½ cup	Wholemeal flour
¼ tsp	Salt
2 cloves	Garlic, crushed
¼ cup	Olive oil
¼ cup	Water, boiling, filtered
1 to grease	Olive oil
½ cup	Black olives, cut in half and pitted
1 Tbsp	Fresh oregano

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Cut tomatoes in half and place, cut-side down, on several layers of paper towels. Leave to drain for 10 minutes. 
2. To make the pastry, place the flours and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the garlic to the well.
3. Pour the oil and hot water into the well. Mix together with a wooden spoon just until the mixture forms a ball of dough. 
4. Turn dough out on to a work surface dusted with flour and knead briefly until smooth.
5. As this is a hot-water pastry it does not need to rest. Roll out pastry so it's 3mm thick and 26cm round. Prick the base all over with a fork. 
6. Lightly oil the base of a 24cm frying pan with an ovenproof handle and scatter with olives.
7. Arrange tomatoes on top, cut-side down, packing them in firmly to fill the pan.
8. Place pastry on top of tomatoes, tucking in the edges to fit neatly. The slight excess of pastry allows for shrinkage during cooking. 
9. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until pastry is crisp and golden brown.
10. Remove from oven and stand for 5 minutes, then invert the tart on to a serving board or plate.
11. Season with salt and pepper and scatter with fresh oregano.

French Tomato and Cheese Tart

After a slow start, my tomato plants are starting to produce!
I made this recipe from my original Wild Yeast and Sugar Pie blog.

I have to admit to using ready made pastry but for one nailed the blind baking!
I totally enclosed the pastry in baking paper but using a large piece to line the dish and folding the edges up to cover it. I then put another piece on top and weighted it with baking beads.

I left off the olives in an attempt to make it more 'child friendly' and used a mix of edam and gruyere cheese.

Isabella says - Delicious! Very cheesy and a great meal for kids.

Tomato and Cheese Tart

300g Flour
150g cold butter cut into cubes
5-6 tomatoes, sliced 1cm thick
3 Tbs Dijon or wholegrain mustard (I used whole grain and it was great...not over powering)
1 eg beatten
200g Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup pitted black olives
Basil leaves for serving

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
• Butter a shallow tin or over proof dish abut 25cm by 35cm.
• Put the flour, butter and a large pinch of salt into the food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Continue processing and add just enough iced water to make the mixture stick together. Do not over process or the pastry will be tough. Alternatively, rub the butter into the flour and alt with finger tips until it s like bread crumbs, then as enough water to make a stiff dough.
• Turn out onto a clean surface and press together into a flattened ball.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the tomato slices on a cake rack side by side.
• Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 30 minutes to drain. Tilt the rack so the water can drain effectively.
• Remove the pastry from the fridge and allow to soften enough to be rollable,
• Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface and use it to line the time.
• Cover with foil or baking paper and fill with baking weights or dried beans or rice.
• Place in the oven on a tray and bake 15-20 (or longer to ensure it is browned a bit) minutes until well cooked and browned.
• Remove from the oven.
• Brush the mustard over the bottom of the pastry shell.
• Pour in the egg and sprinkle with grated cheese evenly on top.
• Place the drained tomato slices slightly overlapping on the cheese.
• Put olives in between the tomato slices.
• Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until well cooked and browned.
• Remove from the oven and cool to warm.
• Sprinkle with the basil leaves and serve in rectangles.