The CookingBites recipe challenge: tomatoes

[detroitdad]

I'll hand to post this recipe.

 

[murphyscreek]

My take on Tuscan Chicken

Recipe & Video - Tuscan Chicken

 

[JAS_OH1]

Okay, so this is not an entry, but I will be using it in my challenge entry recipe later as an accent to another tomato-based recipe:

Recipe - Sundried tomato and roasted garlic infused olive oil

The jar is an old pasta sauce jar I had on hand. I tend to save jars and reuse them pretty regularly.

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Here is another tomato based product I am going to use in the challenge: sundried tomato granules/powder. I didn't see the point in writing up a recipe for it since it's so simple. It's important, of course, to not use the canned sundried tomatoes, but instead the dehydrated kind:

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Simply Put the desired amount of sundried tomatoes in a blender until it turns into granules or powder.

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First off, I am not asking for help or ideas with how to go about this, it's a challenge and I have to do it by myself. I think I know what I need to do to figure it out.

Okay, so I had some time on my hands yesterday and figured I would go ahead and make a pizza for this challenge. My idea was/is to showcase the tomatoes in several ways. I couldn't find a recipe for what I wanted to do, which is to make a pizza crust using sundried tomato powder and roasted garlic, which I did. But while I was stirring the tomato powder into the flour, 1 tbsp at a time, it just didn't look like it was going to be strong enough for the sundried tomato flavor to come through. I ended up adding 5 tbsp to it, and when I got it mixing, it turned the dough very dark (because the sundried tomatoes I used were dehydrated and nearly black in color). The taste and texture turned out to be fantastic! It was light but had a great chew. My husband initially thought I had burned it, but after he tasted it he complimented me repeatedly.

But I am going to have to tweak that dough some more before I write up the recipe. So I am not going to post it just yet because the pizza is not photogenic. After I play around with it some more I'll get it written up, maybe next weekend or the day after Christmas. Here are some photos. It's not pretty but it was really, really good. I used fresh tomatoes drizzled with the sundried tomato and roasted garlic EVOO I made and mixed in some dried oregano and basil, along with chopped onion, mushrooms, yellow capsicum, diced baby asparagus, more roasted garlic (can you ever have enough?), and goat cheese, parmesan, and mozzarella, then slivers of prosciutto that I added the last 10 minutes of baking to keep it from getting too dried out. I only used maybe 1/4 tsp of salt because the prosciutto and cheeses were naturally salty. Extremely pleased with the toppings (and the crust flavor), just gotta get that crust to look pretty!!!!

 

[Morning Glory]

I ended up adding 5 tbsp to it, and when I got it mixing, it turned the dough very dark (because the sundried tomatoes I used were dehydrated and nearly black in color).

My thought here is to use tomato powder but not sun-dried. I reckon the roasted garlic together with that would give the crust enough 'umami'. The tomato powder I have (non sun-dried) is a good red colour.

 

[JAS_OH1]

My thought here is to use tomato powder but not sun-dried. I reckon the roasted garlic together with that would give the crust enough 'umami'. The tomato powder I have (non sun-dried) is a good red colour.

I'm still not sure i want a red pizza crust (definitely not dark brown) And my thoughts were I want to make my own powder or whatever I use. I've got some ideas, I might try just using a more roughly ground sundried tomato mix and use a smaller amount, mixing it in by hand just before rolling it out.

 

[ElizabethB]

Tomatoes at this time of year in the northern hemisphere are very limited. Supermarket, mass produced, flavorless tomatoes. If you have a green house or friends/family with a green house you may be blessed with flavorful tomatoes. Those of you living in the southern hemisphere probably have access to wonderful vine ripe tomatoes. I am jealous.

 

[kaneohegirlinaz]

Tuscan Butter Shrimp

 

[kaneohegirlinaz]

Tomatoes at this time of year in the northern hemisphere are very limited. Supermarket, mass produced, flavorless tomatoes. If you have a green house or friends/family with a green house you may be blessed with flavorful tomatoes. Those of you living in the southern hemisphere probably have access to wonderful vine ripe tomatoes. I am jealous.

I have already professed that I am not a fan of Tomaotes, but my family loves them.
I buy these, in fact I picked this up today

I've also seen them at the local Kroger's (here in the West they're called Fry's)

 

[JAS_OH1]

Tomatoes at this time of year in the northern hemisphere are very limited. Supermarket, mass produced, flavorless tomatoes. If you have a green house or friends/family with a green house you may be blessed with flavorful tomatoes. Those of you living in the southern hemisphere probably have access to wonderful vine ripe tomatoes. I am jealous.

And they are jealous of us during our summer months!

I can find good tomatoes in winter, but not always, and I do pay dearly for them.

 

[Mountain Cat]

I can't find any good fresh tomatoes in winter or spring. So I am looking to canned recipes now. Although I am checking through old, previously unpublished here, recipes that might be floating around. Found one: "Two tablespoons tomato paste" - but just doesn't seem tomato-forward enough to submit! Continuing looking.

 

[karadekoolaid]

OK, guys, I´m detecting a sort of negative vibe here. " I can´t get fresh tomatoes" " My sister has fresh tomatoes all summer , but not now".
And that´s because you´re not being CREATIVE enough
Come ON! Get those tired old neurons working! Get the innovative juices flowing! Push some ideas down the hill and see if the wheels fall off!!

 

[caseydog]

OK, guys, I´m detecting a sort of negative vibe here. " I can´t get fresh tomatoes" " My sister has fresh tomatoes all summer , but not now".
And that´s because you´re not being CREATIVE enough
Come ON! Get those tired old neurons working! Get the innovative juices flowing! Push some ideas down the hill and see if the wheels fall off!!

I'm not negative, just realistic. As long as canned tomatoes are allowed, I'm fine.

BTW, no matter what ingredient you choose for a challenge, some people won't be able to get it. In this case, we can all get tomatoes, but not all of us can get good fresh ones. There's no such thing as a universally "right" ingredient.

CD

 

[kaneohegirlinaz]

Quick Gumbo

 

[karadekoolaid]

BTW, no matter what ingredient you choose for a challenge, some people won't be able to get it. In this case, we can all get tomatoes, but not all of us can get good fresh ones.

And that´s precisely why I chose the ingredient. If you can´t get it fresh, use frozen. if it´s not frozen, use canned. If you can only find it processed, then processed. No sweat!

 

[caseydog]

And that´s precisely why I chose the ingredient. If you can´t get it fresh, use frozen. if it´s not frozen, use canned. If you can only find it processed, then processed. No sweat!

There will be more entries. It's a good ingredient. It takes time for people to get into these things. Keep in mind, though, that your tomato challenge has the biggest holiday of the year right in the middle of it, so participation may not be as high as other challenges. Hopefully that isn't the case, but it is possible.

CD