It’s time to face the cold hard truth: tomato season won’t be here for much longer. That is, unless my freezer has anything to say about it! Out of all the summer vegetables (or is it fruit?), I think tomatoes are the ones I mourn the most when the season is over. There’s nothing worse than a flavorless winter tomato with it’s pale flesh and icy, dry appearance.
In the meantime, we’re picking several pounds of heirloom and cherry tomato varieties daily from the Living Lab Gardens. I have visions of pasta sauces, pesto, salsa, and tomato jam dancing in my head…
To celebrate the tomato, I’ve compiled a list of my 10 favorite recipes to date.
Get ‘em while you can!
Optional: For Vegan/Vegetarian Gluten Free Pasta try spiralizing zucchini!
1. Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto
This pesto is bursting with seasonal flavours and nutrients. It’s also quite low in oil thanks to the roasted tomatoes adding body and flavour. I left the almonds chopped and it adds a nice texture that is great mixed into pasta or spread on a toasted sandwich.
2. Easy Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
Creamy, flavourful, and downright irresistible…no one will be able to tell there isn’t any cream in this pasta!
3. Vegan Tortilla Soup
A wonderful soup to transition from end of summer into Fall. It packs a bounty of summer flavours, with a warming comfort for those cooler summer evenings. We added a handful of vegan cheese, chopped avocado, tortilla strips, and green onion on top to really round out this hearty and filling dish.
4. Gazpacho
Still too hot for soup? Try my favourite Gazpacho. After testing a few versions, this one is hands down my favourite.
5. Basil Scalloped Tomatoes and Croutons
One of my favourite casseroles. Fresh basil and in season tomatoes are key here. One thing I love about this recipe is the short ingredient list…it was so easy!
6. Tomato Walnut Basil Pasta
This hearty pasta sauce is so healthy it hurts. Walnuts, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, basil, oh my!
7. Sundried Tomato Cheezy Kale Chips
Like nachos, only better. Satisfy your every chip craving with these cheezy and crispy kale chips!
8. Creamy Roasted Tomato Garlic Coconut Soup
This tomato soup is anything but traditional, boring, or bland and it’s definitely one of the best homemade soups I’ve made to date. The light coconut milk is a great way to add a luxurious creaminess, pairing well with the heat from the garam masala and adding a nice contrast to the rustic quality of the roasted vegetables. See why it’s received so many rave reviews.
9. Easy Roasted Tomato Pizza with Cashew Cheeze
Easy as tortilla pie! This pizza features irresistible roasted tomatoes and a creamy basil cashew cheeze sauce.
10. Lightened Up Sundried Tomato Basil Pasta
This lightened up pesto has just a few tablespoons of olive oil, but I promise you won’t know the difference . The sundried tomatoes, walnuts, and basil create an extremely flavourful pesto that goes wonderfully with pasta, sandwiches or wraps, or mixed into some grilled vegetables. Can’t have nuts? Just leave them out. The addition was more of an afterthought than a main ingredient.
