The Great Tomato Glut

If you’ve been growing your own tomatoes and have ended up with more than expected, here are some tasty ways to use them up, care of the new Development Chef at COOK, Laoise.

Tomatoes on Toast:

Rub some garlic on a thick slice of toasted ciabatta. Halve your tomato and grate them over a bowl (so you don’t lose the juice) using the coarse side of a cheese grater. Add a little extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and cracked black pepper. Spread on the garlicky toast and tuck in!

Breakfast of Champions:

Stir a handful of roughly chopped tomatoes through your scrambled eggs just before they are cooked.

Summer Salad:

Pair your sweetest tomatoes with strawberries, fresh basil and buffalo mozzarella for a salad with a difference. Ideally if you have time marinate the tomatoes in a little olive oil with salt and pepper in advance. Trust me on this one!

Confit Tomatoes:

To preserve your tomato harvest, gently heat sliced tomatoes with enough oil to just cover them in a shallow pan. Season with lemon zest, garlic and oregano, simmer for five minutes, then take off the heat. Once cool, drain (reserving the oil) and these will keep in the fridge for 4 weeks or more in an airtight container with a little of the reserved oil. I love these stirred into a pasta sauce, as a side with chicken or fish, or on their own with some crusty bread. The excess oil can be used to make a salad dressing.