I have had a bad tomato year.
For some reason, the container plantings of tomatoes I planted just didn’t do well.
But Allyson had a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes.
She has the best location right between her driveway and sidewalk.
So, they are in the way- and she is happy to share them with anyone willing to pick them (like me!).
I have used them in salads, and in just plain eating. I put them in tomato tarts and marinated them. And yet,I still have more cherry tomatoes.
I have also refined my cherry tomato handling methods.
First- only pick the ones that haven’t split yet. Ripe, but not split.
Second- use as soon as possible.
Third- check often for the ones that have split after picking.
Fourth- use them first.
Fifth- peel off the skins before you cook them.
AND
Sixth- chop tomatoes coarsely and discard seeds.
Perhaps you already knew all of these methods. I have had much better success in using these in recipes since I learned them.
Here is an original recipe for Braised Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes Italian.
Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cut up chicken, fat removed
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
3/4 cup chicken broth or water
2 TBS olive oil
1 lb. egg noodles or pasta, cooked
Method:
Marinate chicken pieces in Italian dressing- at least 2 hours in fridge.
Using large pot, heat on medium , drizzle with olive oil. And sautee chicken until browned, turn over and brown other side.
Add onions to chicken and stir to keep from burning. When onions turn translucent, add garlic and sautee for another 5 minutes or so.
Add water or broth, turn heat to medium low and braise for about 20 minutes, then add cherry tomatoes and cover. Continue to braise for another 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
Make sure you follow the above cherry tomato handling methods-
you don’t want the skins to become little strings in the sauce and the seeds
will burn to the bottom of the pan.
It is really, really delicious- even Frank remarked on it several times last night.
And it used up a fair amount of cherry tomatoes, as well!
Our tomato crop was stellar, except for the plum tomatoes. I had found a fresh tomato sauce recipe for pasta using plum, or roma, tomatoes, at the end of the tomato season last year and have waited for a bunch of tomatoes this year. But, although the sweet 100s, the beefsteak tomatoes and the yellow ones I planted have done phenomenally, the plums are not turning red. I’m afraid it’s too cool for them now….
MMMmmm. With our small amount of sun, we can only grow cherry and grape tomatoes. This year we decided not to plant any since we would be painting the house and not having as much time to garden. I still managed to have a lovely little volunteer arrive. It is just now beginning to bear tomatoes–not enough to make sauce but delicious picked warm in the garden!
It looks very good.I’m sure it was.
I had a nice crop of cherries, too, and my method was a bit different than yours, mostly because I didn’t have the time to peel and seed each one. 🙂 Instead I followed your steps 1-4 and then I just dumped everything into my pot, simmered them down with onions, peppers and garlic, salt, vinegar, a bit of sugar and celery seed, and then put the whole thing in the food processor and then my old foley mill. YUM-O! I have canned several quarts, pints, and even froze some bags of it, too. It’s DE-LISH! Your recipe looks good, too, but unfortunately, I think I only have about 5 cherries left on my plants. Next year! Next year!
I love reading your recipes. My tomato crop was not good this year either. I have only had enough cherries to eat. I love going outside, picking them off and plopping them right into my mouth. Hardly any ever get into the house!
KiRydg I want to say – thank you for this!