Barefoot Contessa’s Herb and Garlic Tomatoes

The Barefoot Contessa’s Herb and Garlic Tomatoes are the perfect recipe to use up your bounty of summer ripe tomatoes. This is a simple recipe with intense garlic and basil flavour; savour these blistered tomatoes tossed with pasta, or on top of grilled crostini!

Before my love affair started with The Pioneer Woman, I had mad love and adoration for Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa.  I still have feelings for her, which is why I’m sharing Barefoot Contessa’s Herb and Garlic Tomatoes with you.  I can’t allow myself to totally forget what I once had with Ina in favour of Ree.  😉

Way back when McKenna was a little girl, she would joke about my love for Barefoot Contessa.  I remember her saying things like, “Shhhh!  Daddy is watching his girlfriend on TV.”  This one time, we were at a book store and she saw Ina’s latest cookbook display, and she yelled, “Look, Daddy!  It’s your girlfriend!”  It seems I’m not too good at keeping my love affairs on the down low.

FRESH TOMATOES WILL MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

Recently, our friend, Tracy, gave us a bunch of tomatoes she and her family had grown over the summer.  I was in total heaven with the large basket of tomatoes which consisted of seven or eight different varieties.  I knew that I would never be able to eat them all in salads or whatever, so I turned to Ina’s recipe for Herb and Garlic Tomatoes.

Very simple to make, these tomatoes yield such a great flavour.  Of course, you can toss these roasted tomatoes in a salad, or top a goat cheese crostini with them, but I opted to toss them with some pasta and fresh basil.  

Now, you don’t need to have so many varities to make this, obviously.  And, you can most certainly use store-bought tomatoes of the grape or cherry variety, but if you can get your hands on a few different types, you will most certainly taste the difference, because each type of tomato has a distinct flavour.

For instance, I found the yellow tomatoes to be tart, while the red tomatoes were sweet.  The green and purplish-red tomatoes were somewhere in the middle, and the orange tomatoes tasted a little peppery to me.  Together, they all formed a unity of amazing flavours.

COOKBOOKS – ARE YOU A FAN?

It’s worth noting that even though I’m not a huge fan of collecting cookbooks, there are a few cookbooks I have in my possession that mean the world to me.  I have all of Ina Garten’s cookbooks – with the exception of one – and I have all of The Pioneer Woman’s cookbooks.

I’ve started collecting Nigella Lawson’s cookbooks too, even though I’ve not made any of her recipes to date.  Her cookbooks read so well and I get totally lost in them. Since I first published this recipe, my love of cookbooks has grown so much. They’ve changed. They’re no longer just a collection of recipes and pictures.

Now, the good cookbooks have stories and almost a whimsical approach that makes me feel like I know the author. My collection is no longer so limited. But, I must buy them myself. I’m still very fussy about what makes a good cookbook! I first saw this recipe online, but have since read the recipe in one Ina’s cookbooks. 

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Olive Oil – Use a good olive oil, one that you can dip your finger into and like the taste of all on its own.
• Garlic – Whenever possible, always use fresh garlic – especially when you are cooking with fresh ingredients like you are in this recipe.
• Tomatoes – You can use any small tomato in this recipe, like grape or cherry tomatoes.
• Fresh Basil – Roughly chop it and add it to the tomatoes for freshness and lots of traditional flavour.
• Fresh Thyme – This might be a stretch for some, but if you can find it and can afford the extra luxury, do so. Otherwise, a 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme is a good substitute.
• Salt & Ground Black Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese – This is optional, but I love freshly grated parmesan with this tomato recipe!

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about half a minute. Next, add the tomatoes, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat the tomatoes with the oil. Reduce the heat to low and allow the tomatoes to cook for 5, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to slightly blister.

Remove tomatoes from the heat, garnish with more fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Allow the tomatoes to cool slightly.  Serve as is, or with some crusty bread, or tossed with cooked pasta.

SUMMER FRESH TOMATOES

If you’re thinking about making this recipe, you must have some summer fresh tomatoes on hand, right? The whole concept of Barefoot Contessa’s Herb and Garlic Tomatoes is about combining fresh tomatoes with a few basic ingredients. Once all was said and done, I took the liberty of creating a pasta dish with it. But, you can use it on crostini just like you would a bruschetta. No matter how you eat it, fresh tomatoes is always the start!

If you can’t source smaller tomatoes like cherry or grape tomatoes, any tomato will do, but I think the best tomatoes are the ones with more meatiness. When a tomato is describe as being meatier, it simply means that the ratio of tomato flesh to the seeds and pulp mixture, is higher. A good example of this is the beefsteak tomato. They are quite large and the walls of the tomato are thick and sturdy. They’re most often found on sandwiches for this reason.

For me, personally, I prefer the roma tomato. In my opinion, this variety has the best flavour, and most certainly, the best colour. A perfectly ripe roma tomato has a deep red colour and just pops in contrast to other recipe ingredients. I use the roma tomato almost exclusively in my recipes. Tomatoes on the vine are perfect for this recipe too! If you use larger tomatoes, just quarter them and cook them as per the recipe.

One last thing, Dear Reader, I cannot possibly finish up this post without a big Thank You to Tracy for sharing her garden’s bounty with us.  Thank you, Tracy!  Did I mention she also gave us a selection of kale and swiss chard?  I hope we’re still on her friend’s list next summer as well.  😉