Tomatoes are one of the most versatile veggies in the kitchen. From tinned toms for a quick bowl of pasta to slow-roasted tomatoes for unbelievable jammy flavour, they can find their way into so many delicious dishes.
Tomatoes are one of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen. Tomatoes are incredibly easy to find in supermarkets all over the UK, all year round, but they’re at their very best between June and October when they’re in season locally and taste so much sweeter and juicier. If you’ve got a glut of fresh tomatoes, here are 10 ways you can use up ripe tomatoes.
In the meantime, these tempting tomato recipes show you just how easy it is to whip up delicious dishes starring this beautiful veg, both when they’re bang in season, and when they’re not.
Transform a handy tin of tomatoes into a gorgeously sweet tomato sauce for a midweek gnocchi dinner. Teamed with a budget-friendly spinach and hazelnut pesto that delivers big on fresh flavour, this is a satisfyingly quick one-pan wonder.
Jamie's Ultimate Tomato Salad
When you’ve got beautifully ripe tomatoes, you can’t really improve on a simple tomato salad. It’s a brilliant accompaniment to roasted meats or fish, but it’s also just as good by itself, with a hunk of crusty bread to soak up all those amazing juices.
A great store-cupboard staple, this super-simple, budget-friendly tomato recipe uses dried spaghetti and tinned tomatoes. Once you’ve made it a few times you can add other favourite ingredients – think baby spinach or frozen peas – to your sauce to take it up a notch.
The perfect way to use up leftover chicken and a big bunch of tomatoes, this one-pan dinner is smoky, spicy and slightly sweet with a hint of aniseed – a Med-inspired dinner to help you make the most out of your tomatoes.
Turn the humble tomato into an elegant topping for a risotto. Roast your tomatoes with garlic and thyme, until soft and beginning to burst, then spoon onto your dish with a drizzle of the pan juices for game-changing flavour.
This one-pan wonder is proper comfort food. Slow-roasting the tomatoes really brings out their sweetness, while the addition of lots of fresh herbs really makes the dish sing. If there are any leftovers, it makes a brilliant pasta sauce – just roughly chop the tomatoes and sausages and serve with a nice chunky pasta shape, like rigatoni.
Cheese and tomato is a well-loved combo, and the layer of Cheddar cheese in this tomato recipe adds an oozy indulgence. Basil oil is an impressive finishing touch to jazz up your bowl, and it’s actually super-easy to make – see for yourself!
This is a veg-packed twist on the traditional tomato sauce. Tinned tomatoes are backed up here by onions, leeks, celery, carrots, courgettes, peppers and squash – phew! Try it anywhere you’d usually use a tin of tomatoes – pasta sauce, pizza toppings, or even in a curry.
Fresh, fragrant and incredibly simple, this curry recipe makes tomato the star of the show using spices that compliment the veg like nothing else does. When you have a glut of tomatoes and you don’t know what to do with them, this amazing tomato curry will seriously go down a treat.
Hungry for more? Take a look at all of our tomato recipes here.