18 tomato tricks

You think you've got too many tomatoes?

If you stopped by the Charlotte Tailgate Farmers Market last Tuesday for the tomato tasting, you'd have found celebrity tomatoes. Park Whoppers. German Johnsons. Chocolate Amazons, Purple Russians, Red Rose and Mortgage Lifters. Big boxes of plum tomatoes. Even a tomato that herb seller Pete Vinci was calling the "Nivci" (he didn't know what it was, so he scrambled the letters in "Vinci.")

The summer that started with no tomatoes, when a salmonella scare chased fresh tomatoes off menus, has become the summer of too many tomatoes. That's what happens when you mix sunshine, a little rain and tomato seeds.

A couple of Sundays ago, my friend Wes Konrad waylaid me after church before the last note of the organ died away.

"You've got to help me," he pleaded. "I need a thousand things to do with tomatoes."

A thousand? That would take a book. Let's start with 18.

1. Roast them.

Core tomatoes; cut round ones in half horizontally; cut plum tomatoes in half lengthwise. Place in glass baking dish, cut sides up. Drizzle with 1/4 to cup good olive oil and sprinkle with salt (don't oversalt). Place in a 200-degree oven and bake 2 to 3 hours, until tomatoes are collapsing. Cool and refrigerate or freeze along with the oil from the pan. Use the tomatoes in everything from pizza to risotto to salad dressing. Use the tomato-infused oil in salad dressings or to drizzle over bread or brush on baked chicken or fish.

2. Broil them.

Cut three or four big tomatoes into slices and lay them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet and add cup dry bread crumbs, salt and pepper and a little grated lemon zest. Sprinkle over the tomato slices and broil 4 to 5 inches from heat just until the crumbs are lightly browned.

3. Grate them.

When you just need a little tomato pulp for a recipe, cut a tomato in half, squeeze out the seeds, then rub the cut side on the large holes of a box grater until you reach the skin.

4. Make a BLT.

At least once this summer, make a good one, with thick, applewood-smoked bacon, sourdough bread, fresh lettuce, mayonnaise and plenty of tomato.

5. Add them to a grilled cheese sandwich.

Shred the cheese (try a Gruyere) so it melts faster, don't cut the tomato too thick (so it isn't sloppy) and press the sandwich (in a panini press or using a heavy skillet).

6. Make fresh sauce.

Start with really flavorful, vine-ripened tomatoes. Core, seed and dice them. Toss with cup bottled Italian dressing (or a mix of oil and lemon juice), 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic and 2 or 3 tablespoons slivered fresh basil leaves in a serving bowl. Cook angel-hair, or capellini, pasta according to package directions. Drain and add hot pasta to the bowl and toss. Serve while pasta is still hot.

7. Make cooked sauce.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan. Add 1 onion, diced, and cook slowly until soft. Add 2 tablespoons minced garlic and about 1 cup chopped carrot (for sweetness and body). Cook a minute or two. Add about 3 pounds of tomatoes, peeled, cored and seeded. Cook slowly about 1 hour, until carrot is very soft and tomatoes have broken down. Cool and purée in batches in a food processor or blender. Return to pot and add 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 to 2 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoon dried oregano. Heat and taste for seasoning. If sauce is watery, continue cooking to reduce and thicken. Use immediately, or cool and freeze.

8. Dry them.

You can make an overnight oven version. Core but don't peel or seed the tomatoes (plum tomatoes work great) and cut into - to 1-inch-thick slices. (Thin slices get crispy, like potato chips; thick slices stay more leathery). Lay the slices on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or nonstick foil. Sprinkle with salt if you want. Place in a very low-temperature oven (150 to 175 degrees) for 8 hours. Store crispy slices at room temperature in a tightly sealed container. Use crispy as a snack, or cover with oil or hot water to rehydrate.