Hot Tomato
Three post-heatwave recipes for tomato season
Every Saturday morning since mid-July, I’ve gone to the Union Square Greenmarket and bought an unreasonable amount of heirloom tomatoes. Just about every day in that timeframe — at least in New York but also, it seems, in much of our rapidly-cooking world — has hovered around 90 degrees.
By and large, these conditions have produced two things: tomato salads and tomato sandwiches. However, this past weekend, the heatwave finally broke. Temperatures descended to a mild 85, and looking at a gas burner no longer induced quite so much sweat. While I still had a looming bushel of tomatoes to use, their range of possibilities opened up a bit more; I could move beyond the humble caprese.
Hence these three dishes that I consider late-summer classics: a sungold-and-butter sauce with tagliatelle, a tomato and white bean stew, and the stately pappa il pomodoro. Regardless of the weather where you’re at, this handful of cooked tomato recipes — no salads or sandwiches to speak of — is good to have when you want a little more action than slicing and spreading mayo. They get even better when the tomatoes are still rolling in during the cooler months of early fall.
Tagliatelle with Sungolds and Brown Butter
Ingredients
3 cups of sungold tomatoes
3 tablespoons high-quality, unsalted butter
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/3 cup yellow onion, finely diced
Handful of basil leaves
4 dried tagliatelle nests (serves two)
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Kosher salt
Cracked black peppercorns
Instructions
Take 2 cups of the sungolds and puree them in a food processor until as smooth as possible. (There will still be some seeds and very small pieces of skin.) Add a pinch of salt and deposit into a bowl. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it generously and add the tagliatelle; cook within 1 minute of the package instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, set a large, deep pasta pan over medium heat. Add a medium amount of olive oil, the garlic, the onions, a sprig of basil, and the butter. Cook until the garlic and onions are cooked through and the butter is starting to brown.
Once the butter is brown, add the pureed sungolds and the remaining whole sungolds, along with salt to taste. Cook on high heat, stirring throughout, until the whole sungolds are just beginning to soften (don’t let them fully burst before the pasta is in); about 4-5 minutes. Remove the basil and discard.
Using tongs, add the pasta into the pan and add a ladle of pasta water. Stir the pasta into the sauce over high heat, emulsifying the sauce and incorporating everything. Take the pan off the heat when you reach a good sauce consistency and when the sungolds are just starting to break apart (they should keep some of their form in the sauce).
Add a generous amount of torn basil leaves and grated parm. Salt and pepper to taste.
Tomato and White Bean Stew
Ingredients
2 large heirloom tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, and chopped into small chunks
Handful of small tomatoes (cherry, grape, sungold, etc.)
1 can of cannellini beans
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon triple-concentrated tomato paste
Dried oregano
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Handful of torn basil leaves
Kosher salt
Instructions
In a saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, a couple basil leaves, and tomato paste to a generous amount of olive oil. Cook until the garlic turns golden, and stir to incorporate the tomato paste. Remove the basil leaves.
Add the cannellini beans, including their liquid, to the saucepan. Add a pinch of salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Add a small amount of water if needed. Turn down to a simmer.
After the beans have simmered for 5 minutes, add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes start to break down and form a sauce. Add water if too thick, and add salt to taste.
Add the smaller tomatoes and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes to soften them.
Remove from the heat, add grated parm and dried oregano. Garnish with basil leaves and olive oil, and serve with crusty bread.
Pappa il Pomodoro (Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup)
Ingredients
3-4 large and very ripe red tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, and cut into large chunks
3-4 cups of stale bread, torn into medium-size chunks (I like sourdough for this)
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of triple-concentrated tomato paste
Basil
1 cup of ricotta whey (my personal secret ingredient - certainly optional, you could use chicken/vegetable stock or water instead)
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Cracked black peppercorns
Instructions
Set a pot over medium heat and add a generous amount of olive oil, the garlic, and the tomato paste. Cook until the garlic turns golden and stir to incorporate the tomato paste.
Add the tomatoes and stir them into the oil. Let them cook for 5 minutes like this, and then add your liquid of choice (whey, stock, or water). Let this cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Salt to taste throughout, and add more liquid as needed; it should be a thin consistency before you add the bread, as this will thicken it up.
Add the bread and stir to combine; let it cook and thicken. It should approximate the consistency of ribollita or any bread stew (or oatmeal).
Once it has reached the desired consistency, add the grated cheese, basil, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature; garnish with basil leaves, olive oil, and flaky salt.