Are there any of the smaller tomatoes (grape, cherry, etc) that are good for roasting. And by that,

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I mean, one in which the peel is actually enjoyable once roasted. I've been roasting a lot of organic cherry tomatoes because I usually run out of time to eat them fresh, but REALLY don't like how tough the peel is. Even when I slice them for a soup or lentil dish, the peels refuse to cook down and I just don't like that texture in my mouth. The last time it happened I took an entire baking sheet of roasted tomatoes and stood there, one by one, popping off the peel to use the pulp for a pie. What a pain in the dupa.

Both my neighbor and the food donation site are trying to give me bags of small tomatoes and I keep refusing them.

Any ideas??

thank you.

 
I find the skins on grape tomatoes too tough

I do roast cherry tomatoes and had not thought the skins were tough at all.

Maybe try the orange or yellow cherry tomatoes? I think their peel tends to be a bit thinner.

 
Did you try roasting your neighbor's tomatoes? They just might be more tender. . .

than the ones from the store, if they are home grown. Or did you already try this and tough skins are why you are refusing them? smileys/smile.gif

 
No...never tried on homegrown, only store.I didn't want to waste their bounty if

roasting returned the same tough skins. The ones from the donation center did look too perfect...I think they came from grocery store donation.

 
Thank you, J. I've seen some pretty yellow ones...just love how the flavor intensifies when

you roast them. I'm looking into making tomato jam next because my favorite sandwich condiment is dried tomatoes. Hoping this will be a good substitute.

 
Quick trick for peeling cherry tomatoes is using a deep fryer

At boot camp earlier this year one of the recipes I had to make was pickled cherry tomatoes. Instructions were to use inch or so oil in a pan to blister/peel them. Chef said don't bother with that and took me to the deep fryer.

They did blister/split in seconds and peel easily. But they were like little time bombs. One blew off its skin and landed behind the neighboring stove. Back at home when I made the recipe again I used the pan method with a splatter shield. Worked well and less "bomb" fragments flying.

 
Oh my, I have roasted all sorts of tomatoes for years. Usually, I turn then into tomato sauce

sometimes, they come out as paste. Many times, I roast a combo, like Sunday, I did some very large reds plus a bunch of cherry toms. Red ones and yellow pear. I put them into a small container to eat as snacks. For me, they are like candy. Never even gave the skins a thought, it is all wonderful and sweet. When I roast the for sauce, I whiz them in food processor skin and all. I get very smooth and silky sauce.

 
Rec: Pickled Cherry Tomatoes

Yield: 6 portions (as condiment)

Ingredients
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 1/4 cups olive oil (divided)
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp yellow or black mustard seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 of a jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, minced
1 1/2 tsp ginger, fresh, grated

Method:
1) Working in batches, blanch (par cook) the cherry tomatoes in 1 cup of very hot olive oil. Immediately place the tomatoes into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and loosen the skin. Peel and drain on paper towels. Halve any larger tomatoes. Set aside.

2) In a saucepan, bring the vinegar to a boil. Add the sugar and salt and simmer until dissolved. Set aside.

3) Heat the remaining olive oil in a separatr saucepan until nearly smoking. Season with the mustard seeds, cumin, black pepper, cayenne, and turmeric. Stir constantly until the flavor is released, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the garlic.

4) Add the tomatoes and spice mixture along with the green onions, jalapeno, and ginger to the vinegar mixture.

5) Allow the flavors to blend before serving. Serve in a bowl at room temperature.

 
I'm trying out an heirloom called Atomic this year

and it is a huge grape tomato in stripes of deep aubergine, orange, and green. Very flavorful and unusual. You would probably only find them at a farmer's market, but I would recommend them for growing next year. They are indeterminate vines, which I always think of as a pian, but I solved that problem: I planted some in the "new" flower garden (as opposed to the rose garden, the old garden, the shade garden, and the driveway border) around the small dogwood (15ft), and they grew up into the dogwood and it looks like the tree is dripping with the exotic fruits. The tree holds the vines up quite nicely!

 
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