# Tomatoes, suitable for a lunch or supper dish



## Ishbel (Jul 18, 2005)

Tomatoes with French cheese and pine nuts
 
Halve 6 large tomatoes (we have a wonderful variety called Jack Hawkins...  truly taste like tomatoes USED to taste!)  and place cut side up in a shallow, oiled baking dish.  Add plenty of ground black pepper.   Crumble  about 100g Roquefort into small pieces and scatter over. Mix 3 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs and 25g  pine kernels. Moisten with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C, gas mark 5, for 20-25 minutes. 
 
Great with garlic bread and/or a green salad.


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## Sandyj (Jul 18, 2005)

This sounds divine. I love tomatoes. It seems to me it's hard to find really nice ones at a regular supermarket in this land of plenty. I grow my own every year, but I haven't been paying enough attention to my wee garden, and I'm afraid this year's crop is not very good. I will go in search of some good tomatoes, and if I can find them, would like to try to make this dish some time this week. -Sandyj


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## Ishbel (Jul 18, 2005)

Sandy
We grow tomatoes in the garden, but our local supermarket sells the wonderful HUGE 'Jack Hawkins'...   The flavour is just divine.  Wonderful just sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper and eaten on good French bread with a little torn basil on top!  YUM.


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## Sandyj (Jul 18, 2005)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> Sandy
> We grow tomatoes in the garden, but our local supermarket sells the wonderful HUGE 'Jack Hawkins'... The flavour is just divine. Wonderful just sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper and eaten on good French bread with a little torn basil on top! YUM.


I was up near Toronto (Burlington, actually) a couple of weeks ago, and my niece took me to her local supermarket, a place  called "Fortino's". Wow, what a lovely selection of fresh vegetables they had. The prices were also quite a bit less expensive than what I find here in Northern New Jersey. They also had a huge selection of spices, cheeses and a very good bakery. It puts our local supermarkets to shame. I would almost consider moving! (I'll look out for the tomatoes you recommend) -Sandyj


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## Ishbel (Jul 18, 2005)

Generally, visitors find food in the UK to be very expensive.  My sister (from Australia) winces everytime she visits and we go round the supermarket.  

But, I pay what it takes to buy the food I want.  No good wincing at the the prices!  Quality costs, doesn't it?   It doesn't mean that I buy only expensive food, but I do buy mostly organic produce - meat and fish, too.  The best way to keep the costs down are to eat local foods, in season.  Which is why we tend to only eat asparagus in late May/June and early July - the British season. I've seen asparagus in the shops in December and February - but grown in places as far flung as Paraguay and Kenya - oh and Florida and Mexico!


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## marmalady (Jul 18, 2005)

Try it with some brie cheese and thyme, cooked the same way - heavenly!


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## Ishbel (Jul 18, 2005)

Sounds great, Marmalady.


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## kadesma (Jul 18, 2005)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> Tomatoes with French cheese and pine nuts
> 
> Halve 6 large tomatoes (we have a wonderful variety called Jack Hawkins... truly taste like tomatoes USED to taste!) and place cut side up in a shallow, oiled baking dish. Add plenty of ground black pepper. Crumble about 100g Roquefort into small pieces and scatter over. Mix 3 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs and 25g pine kernels. Moisten with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C, gas mark 5, for 20-25 minutes.
> 
> Great with garlic bread and/or a green salad.


Ishbel,
I think this if wonderful and I can hardly wait to try it..I'm a tomato NUT big time so I know I'm going to use this time after time.. Thank you for posting..
kadesma, drooling already


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## Bangbang (Jul 18, 2005)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> Wonderful just sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper and eaten on good French bread with a little torn basil on top! YUM.


 
I love them like that. I use celery salt.


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## Claire (Jul 19, 2005)

My tomatoes should be starting to come in next week, and this sounds great.  Around here the only tomatoes that have any flavor year-round are cherry/grape and other miniature varieties.  So when my tomatoes come in, I'm in heaven.  This year I have two "early girls" (our season is short, and these work) in the ground, and Italian plums in a couple of tubs.  Some are just getting a hint of blush, so they'll be ready soon.


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## Bangbang (Jul 19, 2005)

We have some plants that are so huge one broke. Can't wait for the tomatoes. Yummy! I eat them like apples with salt.


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## Claire (Jul 20, 2005)

My plants, too, are starting to break, and we aren't getting enough rain, so the ones in tubs are going to start needing water TWICE a day, since they're predicting temps in the 90s this week (unusual weather for this part of the country).  But when the tomatoes start turning red, I'll eat so many that I'll get sores on the sides of my mouth from eating too much acid.  I love 'em.  Then I'll start making tomato sauce for the freezer.  And my non-gardening neighbors will be on their knees in grateful supplication, because almost everyone loves a fresh tomato in season.  

When I was a kid, Mom kept a big shaker of mixed salt and pepper on the picnic table so we could pull tomatoes off the vine and have a snack any time.


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## Bangbang (Jul 20, 2005)

My grandmother did the same and I got sick once from eatin so much salt.


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## middie (Jul 20, 2005)

Bangbang said:
			
		

> We have some plants that are so huge one broke. Can't wait for the tomatoes. Yummy! I eat them like apples with salt.


 
bang i do that too ! lol


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## Claire (Jul 30, 2005)

I'm now already on my second dozen tomatoes.  My friends are amazed that I already have that many.  Hey, if you live in a short season area, go for those Early Girls.  I'm not quite that pleased with the plums I'm growing in whisky barrels.  They're OK, but nowhere near the flavor that the patio tomatoes (previous years) had.  I can see the advantage -- they are meatier -- fewer seeds -- making them perfect sauce tomatoes.  But do have more problems, and lack that acid-y flavor I love.


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## Claire (Jul 30, 2005)

Oh, didn't mention my favorite things to do with fresh tomatoes:  Put on a slice of toast with a slice of cheddar in between, under a broiler (favorite breakfast).  Chop up and toss with fresh herbs an other fresh from the garden veggies, tons of olive oil, seasoning, and angel hair pasta (favorite lunch).  And of course, the classic mozzerella (other cheeses sometimes will do), basil, and tomato salad.


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