You say Tomato- I say Pomodoro

olive oil with tomato bits, sea salt with bread for dipping

Reading Deb’s Tomato Fest on Martha Stewart’s Blog, Dinner Tonight, how could I not gather my Italian tomato recipes together in one place now that we are having a gut of tomatoes!

So stopping by Margaret’s Way to the Garden Blog, I got the info on the Food Fest Party they are having weekly. It sort of feels like a Woodstock for foodies and this being the anniversary of the festivalit seems appropriate to go all out! So let your hair down and take off your shoes and join me in my Tuscan Kitchen. Playing Arlo Guthries “Alice’s Restaurant” would be appropriate!

Keep it fresh and keep it simple, probably one of the hardest things to do in our hectic lives is to keep the food simple.

As you have seen, I have been buying some Killer Tomatoes lately, weighing in at over 2 pounds and lasting a week in our house, which inspired several dishes using them raw.
Their meaty flavor needed nothing but extra virgin olive oil and salt.
When was the last time you had a tomato right from the farm, never having been in the fridge? The intensity of flavor is incredible.
We have gotten so used to supermarket vegetables, often real flavor memories have been replaced by chilled down, non seasonal replacements.

Refrigerating food dulls the flavor in raw and cooked foods, then it requires over seasoning to replace the missing flavor.

Called Fiorentini, these tomatoes are actually grown in Sicily, the volcanic soil and sun create a fabulous growing season and flavor.

Caprese, the Italian summer flag on a plate. buffalo mozzarella, sliced tomatoes , basil, sea salt and oil. NO VINEGAR PLEASE!

In my Signs of Summer post you will find the recipe for my favorite summer salad
Panzanella.
When I came back from Sicily I was totally inspired by the Red Tomato Pesto from Trapani.
Every Italian man will fall in love with you if you can makeStuffed Tomatoes like his mamma did.(maybe he has to be a Tuscan, like mine is?)
or make the perfect snack for anytime of the day with tomato and bread.
Got some fabulous heirloom tomatoes?Try this Spaghetti, made like risotto.

But there is no better way to celebrate summer than saving some summer in a jar!Tuscan Tomato sauce for pasta. Pure Passion.
Staying simple, but adding some typical ingredients from the mediterranean pantry and you have a couple of great salads featuring ugly but good heirloom tomatoes.
I have never made my pappa al pomodoro from fresh tomatoes as it is a soup which I tend to have in the winter, but it is also great served room temp so will try that too later this week.

Pappa al Pomodoro

Enjoy this thick stew-like soup on a cold day with a drizzle of extra virgin oil on top. I like to reheat it the next day by sauteing some sliced garlic and more chili in oil and then reheating. This gives it an extra kick!

When green beans are in season and the cherry tomatoes come out tooI make Germana’s green bean recipe all the time, over-cooking is the secret hereit carmelizes the sugars in the tomatoes and really takes the flavor notes up a notch.
Another recipe where the cherry tomatoes shine isDonatella’s Chicchi, a Spelt and chickpea salad from Umbria.When Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl was with me in FlorenceI made this with black rice and it was a hit!

For instant satisfaction try pan frying cherry tomatoes in the “Trinity”
Garlic,olive oil and chili flakes. Aglio,olio e peperoncino

who needs to plant when you can be adopted by a farm, sort of my CSA at the weekly market.

But if you are having a late harvest and your tomatoes are still green,in Italy that is a good thing!

Italians prefer green tomatoes for salads as they have a nice tartness to them -of course fried green tomatoes are also Italian, dusted in a little polenta meal before frying.

My favorite is to make a lovely “green” pasta sauce.

Green Tomato Pasta Sauce

Something I have been making in class with green, turning red, San Marzano tomatoes.They are picked green to be eaten insalads because they have a crispy sort of acidic flavor.They are not meant to be used for pomarola sauce until they are vine ripened in August!
Green tomatoes

Garlic
Olive oil
Fresh basil
Parmesan cheese
Salt

Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise and then into thin slices.
Slice the garlic and heat in olive oil over high heat; when garlic is golden add tomatoes.
Stir fry to get the tomatoes covered in oil and to really start to let them carmelize!
Add torn basil and salt.Turn down heat to medium and let cook until the tomatoes fall apart.
Cook pasta in salted boiling water and save some of the water to thin the saucebefore you drain the pasta.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, heat together and add Parmesan cheese.Add the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce.Serve hot.
The green tomato sauce is like a savory confit of tomatoes.
It is also great with chucks of Parmesan cheese as an appetizer or served with roasted meats.

Buon Appetito and Buon Pomodori!