While tomatoes are usually consumed as vegetables, strictly speaking the tomato is a berry or fruit. The tomato originated in western South America, Mexico and Central America. Its domestication and cultivation may have originated with the indigenous peoples of Mexico and it was used by the Aztecs in their cooking at the time of the Spanish conquest. The tomato was then brought to Europe together with several other New World plants and was introduced to other parts of the European-colonized world during the 16th century.
Tomatoes can be consumed in many and diverse ways: raw in salads and drinks, or cooked in sauces, soups, stews, curries and stir fries. They are preserved as a paste or a sauce, pickled and sundried. In fact, most of the world’s cuisines would be unrecognisable without them, especially the Italian.
You can find several tomato cultivars in supermarkets. However, most of them lack natural sugars as they have been bred for yield, shelf life, size, and resistance to environmental pressures rather than taste. On the other hand, an ever-growing range of tastier cherry tomatoes are being developed and several breeds of heritage tomatoes have made a comeback in greengrocers and farmers’ markets. Whatever their breed, tomatoes are a rich source of vitamin C.
The recipes below are designed for your standard supermarket tomatoes and aim to make them as flavoursome as possible. They can generally be made with one large or two smaller tomatoes. The side dishes can be made with a small or medium tomato. You’ll also find lots more recipes that contain tomatoes on this website, namely cherry tomatoes and canned diced tomatoes.
Small, versatile and dependable, suitable for salads as well as cooked dishes, cherry tomatoes are a most useful vegetable to have on hand and as such are listed among the Crisper Essentials.
You could also substitute peeled, fresh tomatoes (especially the tasty heritage varieties) for canned diced tomatoes in the recipes you’ll find in the entry Standby Veg: Diced Tomatoes. (Tip: to peel tomatoes cut a cross into their base and then douse them in boiling water for 10 minutes.)
Alternatively, you could use ‘Search’ to find recipes that use cherry tomatoes and diced tomatoes.
Recipes:
Marinated Tomato and Cucumber Salad
Pasta with No-Cook Tomato Sauce
Quick Side Dishes
§ Chop 1 small/medium tomato and marinate for 10–15 minutes in French or Italian salad dressing.
§ Chop 1 small/medium tomato and toss in 1 tsp. basil pesto and a little olive oil.
§ Halve 1 small/medium tomato and sprinkle cut faces with shredded Parmesan cheese and basil. Bake in a hot (200°C) toaster oven for 20 minutes, or microwave on high for 3 minutes.
§ Peel and chop 1 small/medium tomato. Stir in 1 tsp. lemon juice, garlic granules, dried onion and basil and microwave on high for 60 seconds.
Marinated Tomato and Cucumber Salad
- 1 medium tomato
- ¼ cup red capsicum or red onion
- 1 Lebanese cucumber
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1–2 tbsp. lemon juice
- Garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, pepper and chilli (optional)
- Salt and sugar (optional)
- Cut tomato into wedges
- Peel (optional) and slice the cucumber
- Slice the capsicum or onion
- Whisk together oil, lemon juice, herbs and spices, (salt and sugar) in a 1 litre bowl
- Add vegetables and toss in dressing
- Cover tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally
- Use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables to another bowl to serve (optional)
- Sprinkle with more parsley and basil (optional)
Variations:
- at Step 8, stir in 1–2 tsp. basil pesto instead of sprinkling with herbs
- substitute balsamic vinegar for the lemon juice
- substitute sliced celery for some or all of the capsicum
Tomato and Potato Bake
- 1 medium/large tomato
- 1 small potato, peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp. (approx.) low-fat milk
- Dried onion, basil and oregano
- 1 tbsp. (plus) shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella (optional)
- Butter or margarine
- Boil potato until just tender and drain
- Mash with a potato masher adding butter and milk
- Stir in Parmesan cheese
- Spray a small pie dish with oil and spread mashed potato over base
- Meanwhile, peel and chop tomato
- Top potato with chopped tomato
- Sprinkle with dried onion, basil, oregano
- Top with mozzarella or more Parmesan cheese
- Bake in a pre-heated hot (200°C) toaster oven for 20 minutes
Variation: substitute ¼ cup instant mashed potatoes reconstituted with 1 tbsp. skim milk powder for the mashed potato
Tip: to peel tomato cut a cross into base and then douse in boiling water for 10 minutes
Tomato Parmigiana
- 1 large tomato (or 2 small tomatoes)
- 2 tsp. basil pesto
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella
- 2 tbsp. breadcrumbs
- Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
- Halve the tomato crossways (or slice the tops off small tomatoes)
- Scoop out about half of the contents of each half
- Drain pulp and chop finely
- Stir in pesto, olive oil, shredded mozzarella and breadcrumbs
- Press mixture into cavities and top with shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
- Roast in a pre-heated hot (200°C) toaster oven for 30 minutes.
Tip: to make breadcrumbs, break one half of a toasted slice of wholemeal bread into small pieces, then process in a bullet blender to break the pieces down into crumbs.
Pasta with No-Cook Tomato Sauce
- ½ – ¾ cup pasta
- 1–2 ripe tomatoes
- Basil, pepper, garlic granules and chilli or paprika
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Shredded mozzarella
- Boil pasta
- While the pasta boils, peel (optional) and chop tomatoes
- Place tomato in a 1 litre bowl and add herbs and spices
- Stir through olive oil
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and stir through tomato mixture immediately
- Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella
Tip: to peel tomatoes cut a cross into base and then douse in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Tomato Egg Drop Soup
- 1 egg
- 1 tomato
- 1½ tsp. chicken stock powder
- Garlic granules and pepper
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- 1½ tsp. cornflour
- Canola oil
- Lightly beat an egg
- Cut tomato into slim wedges
- In a small saucepan, sauté tomato in canola oil with garlic granules and pepper
- Add 1½ cups water with chicken stock powder and soy sauce and bring to the boil
- Dissolve cornflour in 1 tbsp. cold water and stir into stock
- Stirring the stock constantly, drizzle the beaten egg into the stock
- Remove from heat
Variation: substitute 1½ cups chicken or vegetable liquid stock for the stock powder and water
Stir Fried Tomato
- 1 large tomato (or 2 small tomatoes)
- 2 tbsp. chopped onion
- Garlic
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. sweet chilli or oyster sauce (optional)
- 1 single-serve microwave rice
- Canola oil
- Cut tomato into thick wedges
- In a wok, stir fry onion with garlic
- Add tomato and stir to heat through
- Add soy sauce
- Add sweet chilli or oyster sauce (optional)
- Continue to stir fry until wilted
- Serve over microwave rice heated as per instructions
Fresh Tomato Curry
- 1 large tomato (or 2 small tomatoes)
- 2 tbsp. chopped onion
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- Garlic, mild curry powder, chilli, ginger and coriander
- 1 single-serve microwave rice
- Canola oil
- Peel tomato and cut in half
- Chop one half finely and the other into wedges
- In a small saucepan sauté onion with garlic and spices
- Add finely chopped tomato with tomato paste and simmer for 15 minutes, adding a little water as required
- Stir in tomato wedges and simmer for 5 minutes
- Serve over microwave rice heated as per instructions
Tip: to peel tomato cut a cross into base and then douse in boiling water for 10 minutes.