Five-Star Tomato Recipes

These all look deceptively simple, and are indeed a snap to make, but taste like you hired a gourmet private chef!

TOMATO RELISH

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced

2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coat a skillet with oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes. Add the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften, then add the tomatoes. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.

Use this instead of ketchup or tomato sauce to top/serve meatloaf.

TOMATO BASIL SOUP

1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes
3 c. tomato juice

2. chicken broth
1 T. dried basil (or to taste)
½ c. cream
3 T. butter cut into pieces
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Combine tomatoes, juice, and broth in a large saucepan.  Simmer 30 minutes.  Add basil, then use blender to process soup until smooth.  Whisk in cream, butter, salt and pepper until butter is melted and soup is heated.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
This is just like a famous, awesome soup at Texas restaurant chain La Madeleine. We save it for Christmas dinner every year, but it could totally be made with fresh tomatoes in the summer too!

FAMILY-FRIENDLY SALSA

1 lb. fresh ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, diced finely
2 cloves minced garlic
½ of a green pepper, diced
Juice of 1 lime
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. oregano

Let sit for an hour but then serve soon, will keep a couple days in the fridge if necessary.

Our family does not like particularly spicy salsa, and most of them (except me!!) hate cilantro, but this recipe has been a great compromise. It has tons and tons of flavor, though it needs to be served with a slotted spoon because it has so much juice.