Tomatoes
Tomatoes are perhaps our most versatile vegetable – or fruit, technically speaking – making it easy to transform leftovers into a new meal. Remember the following simple tips when you next have tomatoes waiting to be eaten:
Store |
Store tomatoes at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. Shift them to the fridge when they’re at risk of becoming over-ripe to slow the ripening process.
Tomatoes also cope well with freezing and can be stored in a labelled resealable plastic bag in your freezer. Bring them out and pop into your next tomato sauce, soup or stew as you needed. They can also be thawed fully on your counter-top or thrown straight into your dish fully frozen.
Cook |
- Make sauces. Tomatoes provide the foundation for a huge number of popular sauces such as pizza, pasta and salsas. These are usually remarkably easy to make and call on a simple few ingredients. If you have tomatoes to spare, find a ‘go-to’ recipe you like and have a simple dinner ready in a flash or a meal ready for the freezer to be eaten another night.
- Roast them. Roasting brings out tomatoes natural flavours and and can be served as an accompaniment to steaks, eggs, burgers, or as part of a salad itself – green, grain-based or with other roasted vegetables.
- Egg them. Tomatoes and eggs are a famous combination and there are many options. Chopped up tomatoes work well in omelettes, quiches or frittatas, alongside cheeses, fresh herbs, bacon, tuna or your ingredient of choice.
- Check out the FoodWise Recipe Room for ideas on tomato-based dises. Some of our favourites include: Paella Verduras, Spicy Roasted Capsicum and Tomato Soup and Mushroom and Tomato Omelette.
Buy |
Choose bright, firm flesh tomatoes – they should give a little when squeezed but not feel soft. Try to buy tomatoes that have been stored at room temperature (rather than refridgerated) as these will have a stronger flavour and will be slower to break down than those stored in the fridge.
In Season |
Tomatoes are a warm season fruit, peaking in December – Feb. They can be found all year round in your supermarket, but for the most these will have been picked unripe and artificially flushed red for selling.
Fun Fact |
There are over 10,000 varieties of tomato in the world which vary in colour from yellow, pink, red, purple, black and white.
Recipe Ideas |
Give these recipes a whirl to get some inspiration as to how best to use tomatoes in your cooking:
