Quick Gazpacho

Cold soups are all the rage at our place in Summer – the hot Summer days of over 35C, often over 40C, demand cooling foods, yet we still want them to be nourishing and healthy. In our garden there are often tomatoes to spare, and so making Gazpacho, that Spanish delicious cold soup, makes such sense.

This is a quick version, takes no more than the time it takes to wash the tomatoes and peel the cucumber. I like these ratios, but nothing is fixed and you can play around with this delicious blender formula. Add a few herbs, lemon instead of vinegar, a small amount of fresh green or red chilli. Enjoy yourself as you make variations on this theme.

Are you looking for cold soups? Try this quick Tomato and Cucumber Cold Soup, Chilled Beetroot Soup, and Roast Tomato and Corn Cold Soup.

What about Cucumber recipes? Try Cucumber Salad with Ricotta and Capers, Cucumber Raita, and Cucumber Lassi.

Try these Tomato recipes – Red Pepper and Tomato Salad with Crispy Flatbread, Chilli and Lime, Italian Tomato Sauce, and Tomato and Peach Salad.

You can browse all of our Cold Soup recipes, all of our Tomato recipes, and all of our Cucumber recipes. Have a look at our Tomato Soups, Cucumber Soups, or all of our Soups, hot and cold. Or take some time to browse our Late Summer dishes.

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Tomato and Basil Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons

After a seasonal slow start to the tomato season this past Summer (poor setting of flowers all over Adelaide), as I write this in late, late Summer, they are ripening in abundance. How special that is – teeny little cherry tomatoes and little egg shaped ones, juiced, cooked, made into salads. Yum.

This salad, another from Bittman as I journey through his 101 salads, is a wonder – a toasted sandwich made into croutons, then mixed with the classic tomato and basil salad. How good is that! Combining 3 loves – basil, tomatoes and cheese toasties. I have added some green tomatoes to the salad, as I love their tang and use them whenever I can.

Are you looking for Tomato Salad inspiration? Try My Mother’s Tomato and Cucumber Salad, Tomato Salad with Marjoram, and Tomato and Peach Salad.

Or are you looking for general Tomato recipes? Try Santorini Style Tomato Patties, Baked Tomato Pasta Sauce, and a Light Summery Tomato and Potato Soup (from India).

Have a look at our Toastie Sandwiches. All of our Tomato Salad Recipes are here, and the complete compendium of Tomato dishes are here. Would you like to browse all of our Salads?  Or spend some time to explore our Late Summer dishes.

Tomato Risotto

Italian food is just wonderful! Today is another Great Risotto Dish. Risotto is always a meditation in cooking. A quiet kitchen, a wooden spoon, some rice and a large pot.

From years ago, when I was first making risotto, and still today, I amazed friends who pop in unexpectedly. I pick tomatoes, salad greens, chilli and rosemary from the garden, pull some stock and tomato paste from the freezer, and cook this risotto in approx. 30 minutes. I serve it with a garden salad and fresh fruit for dessert. They are always pretty impressed!

If you haven’t cooked risotto before, here are some basics.

Similar recipes include Risotto with Mushrooms, Asparagus Risotto with Basil, and Caramelised Pumpkin Risotto.

You might also like our Risotto recipes, and our Rice recipes. Our Italian dishes are here. Check out our easy Early Spring recipes too.

This is a vegetarian recipe from our first blog which was in existence from 1995 – 2006. You can browse other recipes from this blog in our Retro Recipes series.

Tapenade Bread Salad with Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Today’s salad takes some olive tapenade and olive oil and smothers bread in it. As it soaks in, cubes of the bread are mixed with tomatoes to make a gorgeous salad. A fun alternative to including olives, and adds a bit of bulk to the dish.

This is also a great way to use up left over bread that might be only good for toast. The firmer texture of this bread is perfect for salads as it soaks up the juices of tomatoes and dressings.

Are you looking for similar Tomato Salads? Try this one which combines crispy flatbread, tomatoes and red peppers. Also try a Warm Tomato Salad, Tomato and Basil Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons, and Artichoke Hearts with Tomatoes.

Browse all of our Tomato Salads. Our Bittman Salads are here. Or take some time to explore all of our many many Salads. Alternatively, check out our easy Late Summer recipes.

Jerusalem Artichokes with Halloumi and Basil Oil

Pottering in the kitchen today, I had a little more time so brought together Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem Artichoke recipe from his book Plenty. Simple to make, it takes just a little time as you need to roast the artichokes, make the charred tomatoes, blend up the basil oil and grill the halloumi. It appears a random combination of ingredients, but it is not so. A perfect combo of bitter, sour, sweet, crispy, crunchy, soft and creamy.

Sometimes bitter greens are not available, so I substitute nasturtium leaves which are always plentiful here. And some rocket leaves.

Are you after other Jerusalem Artichoke recipes? Try Jerusalem Artichoke and Cumin Salad. We have some others  planned, so check back here later for updates.

Or some Halloumi dishes? Try Halloumi and Orange Salad, Halloumi Pizza and Halloumi and Watermelon Salad.

Browse all of our Halloumi recipes, our Tomato recipes, and our Jerusalem Artichoke dishes. Explore all of 0ur Ottolenghi recipes. Or browse our Late Autumn dishes.

Tomato Tarte Tatin | Tomato Upside Down Tart

This is an amazing little tart, layered with caramelised onions, oven dried tomatoes and feta. I make it as 4 individual tarts and serve with a green salad and a vegetable salad.

Not only does it taste sensational but it looks simply stunning and unusual.

The taste of the tomatoes is intense, due to the very slow drying of them beforehand. The pie is fragrant with fresh basil, sumac and parsley. Delicious!

Not a fast food, this one. It does take some time to prepare, due primarily to the slow baking of the tomatoes. Best to prepare the tomatoes, pastry and onions the night before and assemble and cook when you need it.

Also try Semi Dried Tomatoes with Pomegranate Molasses, and Halloumi Pizza with Semi Dried Tomatoes.

You might also like our French recipes and other Pies. All of our Tomato recipes are here. Or explore our collection of Late Winter dishes.

This recipe is one of the vegetarian recipes from our first blog which was in existence from 1995 – 2006.  Feel free to browse other recipes from our Retro Recipes series.

Pan Fried Broad Bean Salad with Tomato and Thyme

I admit it. I have had an aversion to broad beans since childhood. We seem to have grown them by the bushel as I was growing up, and we ate them with every meal, often in their pods, boiled and boiled and boiled. Over the ensuing years I have tried to fall in love with them. I have even grown them myself. But that taste, and the childhood associations would not go away.

This year, with a wonderful Italian green grocery near me, I resolved to try again. Putting a lot of effort into treating them properly, I double peeled them while watching TV in the evenings, ready to work with them in the morning.

The efforts have been rewarded. I am now loving these wonderful, short-seasoned beans. I will be quite sad when their season is over (but I have discovered that frozen broad beans are available, and they are particularly good).

Are you looking for similar Broad Bean recipes? Try Pan Fried Broad Beans with Lime, Chilli and Salt, and Tawa Broad Beans.

Try these beauties too: Glorious Five Bean Salad, and Broad Bean and Butter Bean Spread.

Browse all of our Broad Bean dishes, and our Tomato Salads. All of our Salad recipes are here. Or take some time to explore our Mid Spring dishes.

Aubergines Fourrées | Baked Eggplant Stuffed with Cheese and Tomatoes

You will really enjoy this recipe. Softened eggplants are slit and fanned, and its slices interwoven with cheese, tomatoes and peppers. They are then baked on a bed of the sweetest caramelised onions, and the cheese melts. If, like me, you use mozzarella, it oozes everywhere! Cheesey Eggplants – who can resist?

If you use a cheese that holds its shape during baking it won’t form a bed of oozy cheese but rather stay in the eggplant, but we love this oozing aspect of the dish. It is perfect for Late Autumn.

It’s a French recipe, so I suggest some French wine and a green salad, for a light lunch eaten outside on a gorgeous Autumn day sitting under a gorgeously coloured tree raining leaves. Do enjoy!

Are you looking for similar recipes? Try Pasta Bake with Cabbage and Cheese, Baked Eggplant Steaks, and Creamy Baked Sweet Potato.

Would you like more Eggplant recipes? Try Cheese and Eggplant Torte, Roasted Eggplant with a Garlic Sauce, and Persian Style Eggplant.

Browse all of our Aubergine recipes and all of our French dishes. Our Baked recipes are here. Or enjoy our Late Autumn dishes.

Feel free to browse vegetarian recipes from our first blog which was in existence from 1995 – 2006, in our Retro Recipes series.

Roasted Sweetcorn and Avocado Salad

We are in the middle of a run of very simple salads, easy to throw together, many of them traditional combinations, simple ingredients, but none the less flavoursome. It is really nice to go back to basics and have, say, a cucumber salad that is dressed with a little oil and the vinegar from the jar of jicama pickles. It is really very lovely.

This relatively simple salad is perhaps a slightly Mexican combination. It mixes roasted sweet corn, avocado and tomatoes. Simple. Fresh. Tangy with lime juice. I have tarted it up this time, with some pomegranate, feta and greens. Some pickles too, for variety, jicama and cumquat. Each time we make it, its a little different. That is the good thing about salads. Some Pickled Lemon Rind would be good too.

Are you after more Salads? We have so many. Try these Avocado Salads: Cucumbers and Avocado Salad.  and Pomelo Salad with Avocado.

Or these Tomato Salads: My Mother’s Tomato and Cucumber Salad, Du Puy Lentils with Feta and Tomatoes, and Tomato and Peach Salad.

You can browse all of our Salads here. All of our Sweetcorn recipes are here, all of our Avocado recipes here, and all of our Tomato recipes here. Or simply explore our Late Autumn dishes.

Cucumber and Tomato Sunday Salad

Brunch, that late breakfast or early lunch, really a replacement for both, so that its identity is that it has elements of both. Whether you are doing more lunchy elements for your brunch, or more breakfasty elements, a salad always goes down a treat. Think Avo on Toast with a Brunch Salad. Perfect.

Are you looking for Salads? Try Quick Tomato Salad with Mustardy Mayo, Tofu and Chilli Salad, and Fennel Salad with Fresh Prunes.

Are you after just Tomato Salads? Try Salad of Marinated Zucchini and Tomatoes, Tomato and Pomegranate Salad, and Bok Choy with Capers and Tomatoes.

Or try some Cucumber Salads – Spicy Cucumber Salad with Herbs and Poppy Seeds, Cucumber Salad with Sesame Seeds, and Smashed Garlic and Cucumber Salad.

You can browse all of our Tomato Salads and all of our Cucumber Salads. All Salads are here. Or simply explore our Late Summer dishes.

Fennel, Potato and Tomato Salad with Garlicky Mayo

After years of not using mayonnaise in my salads (I don’t eat eggs so don’t make my own and don’t love it enough to buy it), I whipped up my Mother’s very retro eggless mayo that she always made with a can on condensed milk, white vinegar and mustard (or other flavouring).

Now we have a couple of salads that use mayo – A Quick Tomato Salad with Mustardy Mayo, and today’s salad which is sort of a wild variation on Salade Niçoise.

Are you after other Tomato Salads? Try Artichoke Hearts and Feta Salad with Tomatoes, Tomato Salad with Balsamic and Majoram, and Tomato Salad with Parsley Oil.

Or perhaps Fennel Salads? Try Fennel Salad with Orange Vinaigrette, Fennel Salad with Fresh Prunes, and Nashi Pear, Celery and Fennel Salad with Panch Phoron Crunch.

Or are you after just Salads? Try Onion Salad with Sesame Oil, Green Salad with Chickpeas, Preserved Lemon and Feta, and Vermicelli and Green Mango Salad.

Why not browse all of our Tomato Salads, indeed explore all of our Salads. Or simple spend some time with out Mid Autumn Recipes.

Quick Tomato Salad with Mustardy Mayo

Sometimes the mornings are rushed, but I still insist on my salad each day, at least until the winter arrives in full force. So I take what I can from the fridge, and some mayo that I made the night before (good thinking!) and a simple salad is born.

Eating a salad a day makes a difference to your life. Trust me.

Are you after other Tomato Salads? Try Marinated Zucchini and Tomato Salad, Tomato and Strawberry Salad,  Tomato and Basil Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons, and Kachumber.

Or try some of our other Salads – Spicy Celery Salad, Green Salad with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon, and Jicama, Red Radish and Green Mango Salad.

Why not browse all of our Tomato Salads, indeed explore all of our Salads. Or simple spend some time with out Mid Autumn Recipes.

Warm Salad of Charred Okra with Tomato, Garlic and Preserved Lemon

I love this recipe – it is so versatile, and the sort of recipe you can pre-prepare the ingredients, charring the okra and tossing it with the other ingredients at the last moment. The preserved lemon and fresh lemon juice contrast so wonderfully with the charred but still crunchy okra. This dish is GOOD.

The okra can also be charred on the BBQ (grill), tossing them on the hot plate as you sip wine and talk to friends. Then throw them into a pan and toss them with the other ingredients and place on the table for your guests to munch on (try with some flat bread) while you get on with BBQing the rest of the meal. I use a kadhai (Indian wok, flatter than a Chinese one) to make this dish, it is perfect for it.

It is an Ottolenghi recipe, of course, born of the Israeli and Palestinian roots of Sammy and Yotham. Okra features well in these cuisines, from the sun dried okra hanging from strings, to being served in dishes heavy with tamarind syrup. What a divine thought!

For this dish, use short, young, fresh, crisp okra only.

Are you looking for other Okra dishes? Read more about Okra here. And try Crispy Okra (Kurkuri Bhindi), Stir Fried Okra with Sesame Seed, Okra Stuffed with Onions, Goan Fried Okra, and Lemak-Style Vegetables.

Perhaps you are looking for Salads? Try Tomato Salad with Green Olives, Chickpea and Carrot Salad with Curry Dressing, and Cucumber and Avocado Salad.

Perhaps try some other Middle Eastern dishes: Okra in Tamarind with Prunes and Apricots, Babaganoush, Falafel, Parsley and Barley Salad with Spiced Marinated Feta and Chickpea “Tabbouleh”.

We have a wealth of Ottolenghi recipes that we have tried. Or have a look at all of our Okra recipes and all of our Salad recipes. Our Middle Eastern Dishes are here. Or spend some time browsing our Mid Autumn dishes.

Champignons Montagnard | Mushroom Savoy | Mushrooms and Tomatoes from Haute-Savoie in France

Perhaps not a pretty dish, there I said it. This is a rustic mountain dish from Haute Savoie, a region of France. It uses vinegar and lemon to add real tang to the mushrooms which are eaten cold – they go well with some excellent bread. In modern times it is great as part of an appetiser plate or part of a mezze/tapas style meal. The vinegar gives it the characteristics of a quick pickle or chutney, and it will pair well with other small dishes.

Are you after Mushroom dishes? Try Mushroom, Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad, Caramelised King Oyster Mushrooms, and Mushroom Curry.

Perhaps you are looking for French recipes. Try French Cream of Pumpkin Soup, French Tomato Salad, and Fennel a la Grecque.

Please browse our Mushroom recipes here and here, and our French recipes here and here. Our Autumn recipes are here and here.

Tomato Bharta | Roast Tomato Side Dish or Chutney

Bharta are North Indian (Punjabi) dishes where the main ingredient is roasted and then pureed with spices. The flavours are intensified by the roasting and the resulting dish is spicy and tangy. A commonly known bharta is Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Bharta).

This recipe uses tomatoes and it is amazing. It is great as a dip, served over rice, used as a sauce, or as an accompaniment to any curry. It can be served with dal-rice, kitchari or stuffed parathas. It also goes well with Chapatti, Roti. It has the best taste!

Looking for Bharta recipes? Try Baingan ka Bharta. 

Perhaps you are looking for other Punjabi dishes. Try Kohlrabi Subzi, Potato and Eggplant Curry, and Urad Dal with Tomatoes.

It is Tomato recipes that you are after. Try Potatoes Baked with Cumin and Tomatoes, Greek-Indian Tomato Pakoras, and Baked Tomato Pasta Sauce.

See all of our Bharta recipes here. Read all about Indian Chutneys here, and feel free to browse other Indian Chutneys recipes. See Tomato recipes here. Or simply explore all of our Punjabi dishes, our Indian dishes and our Early Autumn recipes.

This recipe can be frozen without the tadka – browse other Autumnal ways of preserving for Winter here.