Sunny weather and tomato season means delicious, seasonal recipes to share with friends and family as we finally head towards summer.
Pocket sized and perfectly balanced, Piccolo cherry tomatoes, grown here in the UK, are great for cooking. Here’s five recipes that make the most of them and the season.
Chorizo and cod traybake with herby tomatoes
Save on washing up by cooking everything in one tray – chorizo, cod, olives, an abundance of herbs and of course, cherry tomatoes. What’s not to love?
Serves: 4
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
Olive oil, for greasing and drizzling
2 red onions
200g cooking chorizo
400g cherry tomatoes, left on the vine
1 tsp tomato purée
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling
4 skin-on cod fillets
1 bulb garlic, broken into cloves, left unpeeled
60g pitted black olives
Bunch of mixed herbs, such as basil, parsley, oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and grease a large baking tray with olive oil. Peel the red onions and cut into wedges. Slice the chorizo.
Put the red onions, cherry tomatoes and chorizo in the tray.
Mix together the tomato purée, red wine vinegar and measured olive oil in a small bowl and brush this over the Piccolos, onion and chorizo.
Cook for 10 minutes and then carefully tuck in the whole garlic cloves to the roasted tomatoes, onion and chorizo and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Pat dry the fish with kitchen paper. Carefully remove the tray from the oven and lay the fish on top of the traybake, tucking the fish in to reveal the other ingredients. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Cook for another 15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.
Remove the tray from the oven and add the olives and most of the chopped herbs (hold back some of the basil and parsley for garnish.)
Return to the traybake to the oven for a couple more minutes until the olives are hot.
Serve hot with the remaining herbs sprinkled over.
Cherry tomato and oregano galette with a cheddar cheese crust
A galette can be any kind of pastry case, but this version made with cheddar is folded back on itself to give a lovely rustic framing effect on the tomatoes.
Serves:4
Total time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Vegetarian
Ingredients:
For the filling:
Drizzle olive oil
500g cherry tomatoes, halved
4 sprigs oregano, leaves only
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
150g ricotta cheese
60g cheddar, finely grated
Generous pinch dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mixed salad leaves, to serve
For the pastry:
125g plain flour, plus extra for flouring
125g wholemeal flour
Generous pinch flaked sea salt
125g butter from the fridge, cubed
1 tsp dried oregano
75g finely grated cheddar, plus extra to finish
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
About 2 tbsp milk
1 free-range egg yolk, for brushing
Method:
Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and brush it with a little olive oil.
Toss the tomatoes in a bowl with the oregano, garlic and a drizzle of olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Arrange on the prepared baking tray, cut-side up.
Roast for an hour until softened. Set aside. If the cherry tomatoes have let out liquid, you can drain them in a sieve or on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Meanwhile, for the pastry, put the measured plain flour, wholemeal flour and salt in a bowl and, using your fingertips, rub the butter in to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the dried oregano and cheddar and stir well.
Mix in the egg and about two tablespoons of milk (enough to bring it to a dough – you may need slightly more or less milk). Bring together using your hands and then wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Increase the temp to 210C/190C Fan/Gas 7 and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Remove the pastry from the fridge.
To finish the filling, mix together the ricotta, cheddar, dried oregano, salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, together in a bowl.
Unwrap the pastry and roll it out on a floured surface into a round, about 2-3mm thick (around 30cm diameter). Transfer to the baking tray.
Spread the flavoured ricotta over the pastry, leaving a roughly 5cm border.
Arrange the tomatoes on top, packed in tightly.
Fold the edge of the pastry onto the tomatoes to contain the tomato and ricotta filling inside the tart. Brush the egg yolk over the pastry and sprinkle with a little more cheddar.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. You are likely to need to cover the galette with foil after 20 minutes to stop it over–browning.
Serve at once with mixed salad leaves.
Spicy Thai-style beef and cherry tomato salad served in lettuce cups
If you’re making this delectable dish for guests, you can prepare it beforehand up to adding the chillies to the mince, so that you can assemble it all at the last minute.
Serves: 4 as a starter
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tbsp sesame oil
200g beef mince
3 spring onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
Generous pinch caster sugar
1 tsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1-2 red bird’s eye chillies, seeds and stalk removed (more if desired, to taste)
About 20 cherry tomatoes
1 lime, juice only
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
8 Little Gem lettuce leaves
2 heaped tbsp chopped mixed mint and coriander leaves
15g dry-roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
Few thinly sliced rings bird’s eye chilli
1 lime, cut into wedges
Method:
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the beef mince and fry until browned all over and crisping slightly. Stir to break up any clumps.
Add the spring onions, garlic, ginger, sugar, fish sauce and chillies and stir together. Taste and add more sugar or fish sauce if needed.
Add the cherry tomatoes and lime juice and cook until the Piccolos soften slightly.
To serve, pile the minced beef and tomatoes into the Little Gem lettuce leaves and place on a serving platter.
Garnish with the chopped mint, coriander leaves, peanuts and chilli rings. Serve with lime wedges.
Cherry tomato Michelada with a lime and chilli salt rim
Whizzed up cherry tomatoes mixed with spiced beer makes a lovely refreshing drink, perfect with herbed tomato and feta tapas.
Serves: 4
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
600g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 limes, juice only
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (may need more, to taste)
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (may need more, to taste)
3 x 355ml bottles chilled Mexican beer
For the rim of the glass:
1 tbsp mild chilli powder
1 tbsp fine salt
½ lime
For the herbed tomatoes and feta:
200g cherry tomatoes (any larger ones halved or quartered)
100g feta, in cubes
Small handful chopped mixed herbs, such as mint, parsley and basil
Drizzle olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Ice
4 small cherry tomatoes
Cocktail sticks
Method:
Blend together the tomatoes, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce in a blender or food processor – you may need to do this in batches. Sieve to remove the seeds and skin. You may also find it easier to blend and sieve once and then tip the remains of the sieve back into the blender or food processor to blend again and extract the most liquid. Discard all the seeds and skin. Pour the cherry tomato juice into a large jug and place in the fridge to chill until you are ready to serve
For the rim of the glass, mix the chilli powder with the fine salt on a small plate.
Rub the lime on the rim of each tall glass, then dip it in the plate.
For the herbed tomatoes and feta, combine the cherry tomatoes, feta cubes, herbs and a drizzle of olive oil in a small bowl. Squeeze over the remainder of the lime half.
To serve, fill four long glasses with ice. Carefully pour the beer into the cherry tomato juice in the jug (at a slight angle to prevent a frothy head). Taste and add a little more Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce, if needed.
Pour the drink into the prepared glasses and serve garnished with a cherry tomato on a cocktail stick.
Serve with the herbed feta and Piccolos.
Cauliflower ‘couscous’ with cherry tomatoes
This light gluten-free, vegan salad is made with cherry tomatoes, mint, tahini, pecans and sour cherry, mixed into whizzed up cauliflower.
Serves: 4
Total time:30 minutes
Gluten-free
Vegan
Ingredients:
300g cauliflower, broken into small florets
1 lemon, juice only
Small bunch of mint, finely sliced
1 tbsp sumac, plus more to serve
600g cherry tomatoes, quartered
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
For the dressing:
1 heaped tsp tahini
Lemon juice (from above)
6 tbsp olive oil
To serve:
100g pecan halves
100g sour cherries (or dried berries if non-available)
Method:
Finely chop the cauliflower to what looks like fine crumbs – either in a large food processor or by hand with a sharp knife.
Put the cauliflower in a large bowl with half of the lemon juice and most of the mint (hold some back to garnish at the end).
Sprinkle the sumac over the chopped tomatoes and then tip them in with the cauliflower.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.
For the dressing, whisk together the tahini, remaining lemon juice and the olive oil. Whisk in a tablespoon of water to loosen slightly.
Arrange the tomato “couscous” on a large serving platter, drizzle with the tahini dressing, sprinkle over the remaining chopped mint, pecan halves and sour cherry and a pinch more sumac and serve.
