Tomatoes & Basil

Tomatoes and basil are one of my absolute favorite summer

combinations.  Both have been plentiful in our weekly CSA Produce Box from Robertston Family Farm.

Roasting Tomatoes

This month, I've been roasting a lot of tomatoes.  Even on hot summer days, I crank-up the oven to 400 degrees and roast tomatoes.  The kitchen gets really hot but it's worth it.  Roasting tomatoes really brings out their natural sweetness.  I normally roast them in extra-virgin olive oil (sprinkled with Kosher salt and course ground pepper) but recently roasted them in Sutter Buttes Traditional Aged Balsalmic Vinegar (a local company) and they were delicious served over pasta with a home-made pesto sauce. 

Conchiglie with Roasted Tomatoes

We loved this summer pasta dish!  I recently made Conchiglie with Roasted Tomatoes with a recipe from Williams-Sonoma.  (You really can't go wrong with their recipes.) Tomatoes and basil along with goat cheese were the stars in this dish.  It was easy to make and a dish worthy to serve to dinner guests.  Here's the link for the recipe:  Conchiglie with Roasted Tomatoes. Give it a try...I know you'll love it too!

Caprese Salad

It wouldn't be summer without Caprese Salad.  Vine-ripened tomatoes are so plentiful in our weekly CSA Produce Box that we've been enjoying a lot of Caprese Salads!  Sometimes I drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil and sometimes with just a thick aged balsamic vinegar. To season the tomatoes, my grandmother always used Morton's Nature's Seasoning and that is what I use to season my Caprese Salads.  If you've never tried it, Nature's Seasoning is a seasoning blend of salt, pepper, onion, garlic, celery and parsley.  It is a fine blend which I like for presentation and it's not too salty tasting.  

(Farm photos taken at Robertson Family Farm in Yuba County, California)