I know. It’s a strange title for a post at the end of January. But the other night, when Christopher and I were paging through cookbooks for inspiration for our Red Meat Meal*, all that appealed were recipes featuring the sunny flavors of summer, which doesn’t jive well at all with cooking seasonally.
And then I remembered the oven roasted tomatoes we’d made with the fruits of our vine and rescued a handful from deep freeze. If you’re like me, you’ve still got bags and bags of these little ruby beauties in the freezer because they seem too precious to use. Stingy? Frugal? Who knows.
In any case, here’s a cross between a tapenade and a sauce that’ll bring height-of-the-summer-Provence to your table (well that may be stretching it, but still . . . it’s really good). It goes as well with fish (for which I originally developed it) as it does steak (on which we enjoyed it for the Red Meat Meal). Heck, this mix is so versatile it could easily stand in as a pasta sauce and bruschetta topping too. It’s equally easy-going when matching wines. The brininess from the capers pairs well with a minerally Sauvignon Blanc, but the full flavor of the tomatoes stands up beautifully to a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon . . . as it did the other night when we enjoyed a Reserve Clos du Bois Cab with a bit of age on it with our filet mignon (thanks Jason!).
For all of you who roasted tomatoes this summer, this one’s for you!
{ Roasted-Tomato Tapenade }
1 cup Oven-Roasted Tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
1 tablespoon drained capers, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Go to town and use it to top just about anything.
* [We don’t eat much red meat, but we’ve got so many wines that pair so well with it that we plan a special Red Meat Meal once a week just to pair with the wines . . . no swallow-the-plate-prime-ribs, mind you. Just a few ounces of locally raised beef or lamb. Just for fun, just for “yum.”]
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Thanks to Claudia at Fool for Food for hosting this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging. And thanks, as always, to Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen for starting it all up! While there are countless entries during the summer featuring tomatoes, I’ll bet this is the only one (from the Northern Hemisphere anyway) featuring them in winter!
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Photo courtesy of Prevention Magazine
20 Comments
Why did I already finish all the slow-roasted tomatoes from this summer? Why?
Shauna . . . See, you live so much more in the moment than I do!
Sheesh, I just realized that I have two posts one after the other that begin with the word ‘Time’. That won’t do, must change that . . .
Yay! I still have some tomatoes in the fridge and keep using them on pasta. This sounds like it would be great over some fish. I love the idea of a red meat meal!
I don’t have oven roasted tomatoes in the freezer. I blanched all the tomatoes, took the skins off, chopped them and froze them. I’ve been using them in sauces.
And I looked at the “Heirloom” tomatoes in the store and they are $6.00 a pound and I refuse to pay that much. It is just wrong.
Ah well . . . steph
Nothing weird about roasting tomatoes in the winter. I do it all the time, and cherry tomatoes always save the day.
I’m going to have to try your tapenade.
Pam . . . Oh it’s SO good over fish. I’m partial to halibut, but I’m sure it would be great over any type.
Steph . . . There’s always next year! We just made a batch whenever we’d collected enough from the garden and then froze them. Such a bargain, I tell you.
Peter . . . Glad to hear you do this too! And you’re right, oven roasting can even convert mid-winter tomatoes into something delectable!
Yum Yum Yum! I love tomatoes! And with fish!!!
I do use cherry tomatoes . . right now they are too expensive too. They save the day - that or Romas. Just gotta find ‘em on sale. I’m a stickler for not paying full price for anything. Plus, up here in the mountains, we are prisoners . . . I have to drive 70 miles to find a bargain. But I will try that recipe - and soon. I’ve got icicles going horizontal from the high winds here and they are beautiful (Lia)
AND odd looking. . . steph
Sounds like a delicious tapenade and makes me wish I had a freezer full of roasted tomatoes (sounds like its time for me to start planning my plants for the coming season).
Red meat meals don’t happen enough in my house–maybe this would be a good excuse to tilt the scales back in my favor.
What a great idea. We have so many extra tomatoes during harvest that we’re always looking for new ways to cook with the tomatoes. This tepanade is perfect . Maybe it’ll be a nice base or even topping for some pizza or flatbread!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed a taste of summer in January. I too love roasted tomatoes on everything from fish to polenta. They’re so wonderfully flavorful.
Count me as a tomato hoarder. I have a bunch in my freezer. Maybe I could “swirl” this into a tuscan white bean dip for the Super Bowl this weekend? I love hummus and olive tapenade side-by-side so why not Roasted Tomato Tapenade and Bean dip mixed?!
Thanks Lia!!
I’m finding it hilarious that you have to plan “Red Meat Meals” once a week just so you can have your wine!
FlaNboyant Eats . . . Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Steph . . . Romas–even winter Romas–are wonderful slow-roasted. So go hunt out a bargain and roast yourself some Romas!
Mike . . . I’m with you on both counts ;-).
White on Rice Couple . . . Love the idea of using the tapenade as a base for flatbread! I could see it dotted with goat cheese . . . mmmmm.
Susan . . . You’re right, this is also great spooned over polenta. I like little pan-fried slabs of it.
Josie . . . I’m so glad someone else is a tomato hoarder too! Whew! I LOVE the idea of a swirled dip–beautiful and delicious. I think the piquancy of the tapenade will pair beautifully with the creaminess of the beans. Let me know how it works!
Elisabeth . . . I know, it’s an odd thing. And I’m sure many a vegetarian would rightfully fight me on my red-wine reasoning for keeping meat in my diet. But hey, it works for me.
I don’t need red meat to drink red wine. . . .
I drink it regardless. Just a neophyte with wine so I don’t know any better. steph
Lucky for you, the tomato is technically a fruit!
Rosemary . . . I love the way you think . . . helping me make my fruit-a-day quota! (last night it was pears and blue cheese :-))
I’m with you on the red meat - I love it, but I savor it even more when we eat it just a few times a month.
And roasted tomatoes are absolutely a staple in my house!
I’ve got to try making this, and I’m a bit of a roasted tomato hoarder, just like you are. (Plus I did roast rather a huge amount of tomatoes this year, I just couldn’t stop once I got started.) Sounds like a wonderful combination.
I just love long roasted and oven dried tomatoes! I have some small tomatoes in the fridge - think I will roast them for a pasta dish tonight.