I promised you tomato recipes from the Woolwich Tomato & Heritage Festival Cookbook, and here they are. I must say I was a bit disappointed that some of the recipes call for canned tomatoes. Fresh is always best, so be sure you get your genuine Jersey tomatoes from your favorite farmstand or farm market.
I love a nice, juicy heirloom tomato. In my opinion, the Cherokee Purple tomatoes are the best. The problem with them is that they get too juicy for a sandwich. However, you can easily solve this issue by just eating the sandwich quickly.
Heirloom tomatoes will have scars and other markings on them but that doesn’t mean they are bad. Heirloom tomatoes are called the ugly tomatoes for a reason.
Heirlooms come in many different colors and look great in salads. They range in color from pink to yellow to purple and stripes. Yellow tomatoes are less acidic if that bothers your stomach. If you want something you will snack like candy, look for Sun Gold cherry tomatoes.
That being said, you can never go wrong with a red Jersey tomato.
FIERY FIESTA SALSA FRESCA
from Justin Lovino. This was the first-place winner from the Tomate Heritage Festival.
8 Roma or 2 large Jersey tomatoes, diced (Colorful heirlooms would be good in this.)
½ yellow bell pepper, diced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
3 tbsp. white onion, diced
3 tbsp. red onion, diced
Kernels from 1 ear of white Jersey corn, roasted
Juice of 1 lime
½ – 1 tsp. cilantro, minced
Salt & Pepper
¼ tsp. cumin, mustard seed, coriander and fennel seed, toasted and ground.
Mix all ingredients until blended and serve.
SCALLOPED TOMATOES
From Andrew Bernard
3 tbsp. butter
1-2 c. breadcrumbs made from day old bread
2 lbs. or more slicing tomatoes, peeled, cut into ½ inch slices
2-3 tbsp. parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To peel a tomato, cut a small cross in the skin on the bottom of the tomato. Place it in boiling water for a 20 to 30 seconds. Take out and put in cold water and the skin will peel right off.
Lightly grease an 8-inch baking dish with a little butter. Spread about 1/3 of the crumbs in the bottom of the pan making sure to cover the entire bottom. Cover the crumbs with a layer of sliced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and some parmesan cheese. Place additional crumbs on top to cover the tomatoes, along with the salt, pepper and cheese. Repeat this process until all tomatoes are covered with breadcrumbs. Top with salt, pepper, and cheese and the remaining butter.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked and the top crumbs are crispy.
JERSEY TOMATO, ZUCCHINI & ONION MEDLEY
From July Nardella
1 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 lg. fresh Jersey tomato, chopped into bite size pieces
1 lg. onion, peeled and chopped
2 green zucchini or yellow squash
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
Grated parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper
In a medium-sized pan, sauté garlic for about one minute. Add chopped tomato and onion and sauté for 2-4 minutes. Add your sliced zucchini and cook until tender but not mushy. Add garlic powder, onion salt, salt and pepper to taste. When cooked, place in serving dish and generously top with parmesan cheese. Serve with parmesan wafers.
PARMESAN WAFERS
1 cu. freshly grated parmesan cheese (not the fine, pre-grated cheese)
1 tsp. black pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place about 1 tbsp. of cheese on the parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Cheese will spread during cooking. Pat down the cheese with the bottom of a glass. Sprinkle lightly with pepper. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden around the edges.
Remove from oven and cool completely.
