When I lived in Aix-en-Provence I was very lucky that the veg man in the weekend market had fallen in love with my eyes. I know this because he told me every single week with very grand gestures but on the plus side, he gave me free tomatoes. It was always tomatoes. Never understood why but as a poor student I was grateful.
An excellent recipe. But try this one - minimum prep time but a long slow cooking time. We serve these tomatoes every day in our B&B in London alongside organic eggs, slow sautéed mushrooms and bacon.
This recipe revives old tomatoes and breathes flavour into any modern Dutch or underripe supermarket brand. Cut any red tomatoes in half. Place in a baking dish, with salt, pepper and scant olive oil. Bake at 120C for at least 60mins. Adjust temperature if they are very underripe. The finished tomatoes will have evaporated off excess fluid to intensify the flavour and colour. No need to peel, de-pip or mess with them in any way.
I often get up really early to start the tomatoes, leaving plenty of time to get the rest of the breakfast ready during the cooking time. I don’t add herbs, preferring to serve the scrambled eggs (if ordered) with a sprig of basil. Highly recommended, low in calories, high in nutrition and flavour.
Isle of Wight tomatoes are my friend. Ordered every 2-3 weeks, yes we eat a lot of tomatoes 😀. They pick and pack day before you get them.the heritage or organic are so tasty. I get 3kg mixed.
Thanks Debora, we have six visitors next week in the Dordogne and your baked tomato recipe will be perfect for the BBQ with great tomatoes. The BBC weather report for next week has promised a scorcher 🎉🥳🎉xxx
Thank you so much for this- I loathe the sanitised ,flavourless versions available in supermarkets. Dreaming of driving home from France, kids squashed in the back as the boot was filled with wine, brandy and calvados and the shelf was carefully packed with tomatoes, melons,apricots and peaches- the smell was delicious!
Supermarkets pick things early before they're properly ripe for ease of transport and storage and a long shelf life. They're seldom grown outside in the sunshine. When I lived in London, our Turkish greengrocer always had excellent tomatoes and other produce - Turkish people have very high standards indeed when it comes to fruit and vegetables. They were always beautifully displayed too.
I made these at the weekend in Cornwall to go with some lovely red mullet fillets. Well a version of them! - I love the 2 very top tips about removing the seeds and putting the breadcrumbs on over the bowl - I had breadcrumbs all over the counter and the air fryer!!! ) my dad lidl tomatoes were indeed much improved 😍 xx
It works so well with tomatoes with little or no flavour, doesn't it? I am glad you'll find the breadcrumb tip useful - it's the best way to get a nice even layer without wasting anything or making a mess.
After more than two decades in Britain, my verdict is that - bar a good farmer’s market - Costco is the best place to get tomatoes, which isn’t great news for anyone who can’t access one.
This is a good tip. When we lived in Hackney, we were so lucky because the Turkish greengrocers had excellent tomatoes - and loads of other beautiful produce too.
Yum! I love to slow roast sungold tomatoes in the summer
When I lived in Aix-en-Provence I was very lucky that the veg man in the weekend market had fallen in love with my eyes. I know this because he told me every single week with very grand gestures but on the plus side, he gave me free tomatoes. It was always tomatoes. Never understood why but as a poor student I was grateful.
Love this Debora - we live near an Asda that sells seductive tomatoes on the vine that are usually sad. Now I know what to do with then 😊
An excellent recipe. But try this one - minimum prep time but a long slow cooking time. We serve these tomatoes every day in our B&B in London alongside organic eggs, slow sautéed mushrooms and bacon.
This recipe revives old tomatoes and breathes flavour into any modern Dutch or underripe supermarket brand. Cut any red tomatoes in half. Place in a baking dish, with salt, pepper and scant olive oil. Bake at 120C for at least 60mins. Adjust temperature if they are very underripe. The finished tomatoes will have evaporated off excess fluid to intensify the flavour and colour. No need to peel, de-pip or mess with them in any way.
I often get up really early to start the tomatoes, leaving plenty of time to get the rest of the breakfast ready during the cooking time. I don’t add herbs, preferring to serve the scrambled eggs (if ordered) with a sprig of basil. Highly recommended, low in calories, high in nutrition and flavour.
Isle of Wight tomatoes are my friend. Ordered every 2-3 weeks, yes we eat a lot of tomatoes 😀. They pick and pack day before you get them.the heritage or organic are so tasty. I get 3kg mixed.
I used to order them during lock down, in part because opening up the mixed box was so colourful and cheerful.
Tasteless tomatoes are the pits! Your recipe is just what the taste police ordered. 🍅😊
Ha! I hope you enjoy it if you make it.
Thanks Debora, we have six visitors next week in the Dordogne and your baked tomato recipe will be perfect for the BBQ with great tomatoes. The BBC weather report for next week has promised a scorcher 🎉🥳🎉xxx
Oh they will be just the thing! Perfect. Enjoy your friends, and the sunshine.
Thank you so much for this- I loathe the sanitised ,flavourless versions available in supermarkets. Dreaming of driving home from France, kids squashed in the back as the boot was filled with wine, brandy and calvados and the shelf was carefully packed with tomatoes, melons,apricots and peaches- the smell was delicious!
What a wonderful image! I was always driving back with whole flats of peaches, apricots, tomatoes and charantais melons too!
British tomatoes make me very sad. Why do we settle for such poor produce when everywhere else gets so much richness
Supermarkets pick things early before they're properly ripe for ease of transport and storage and a long shelf life. They're seldom grown outside in the sunshine. When I lived in London, our Turkish greengrocer always had excellent tomatoes and other produce - Turkish people have very high standards indeed when it comes to fruit and vegetables. They were always beautifully displayed too.
I’m in North Wales - we are sadly light on Turkish grocers but I win on so many other levels it’s worth tasteless tomatoes to live here
I made these at the weekend in Cornwall to go with some lovely red mullet fillets. Well a version of them! - I love the 2 very top tips about removing the seeds and putting the breadcrumbs on over the bowl - I had breadcrumbs all over the counter and the air fryer!!! ) my dad lidl tomatoes were indeed much improved 😍 xx
It works so well with tomatoes with little or no flavour, doesn't it? I am glad you'll find the breadcrumb tip useful - it's the best way to get a nice even layer without wasting anything or making a mess.
I made a heck of a mess of someone else’s kitchen with them !!! (I did clean up after myself though !!)
What a great title!
So glad you like. ❤️
After more than two decades in Britain, my verdict is that - bar a good farmer’s market - Costco is the best place to get tomatoes, which isn’t great news for anyone who can’t access one.
This is a good tip. When we lived in Hackney, we were so lucky because the Turkish greengrocers had excellent tomatoes - and loads of other beautiful produce too.
Tomatoes that taste of sadness 😔 this is so true
There is no avoiding it.