There may be some of you that see tomatoes and think that they are just a bland piece of fruit. Yup, you read that right! Tomatoes are a fruit and not a vegetable. But tomatoes are one of the most diverse pieces of fruit that are used as the base of many different sauces and dishes. Today, we are going to be looking at the diversity the usefulness of the tomato.
Pico De Gallo
This salsa is a staple at any event. Bring out the chips and the salsa and most of the time you are getting a pico de gallo. This classic side dish is sure to impress, as long as you have good tomatoes. Because tomatoes are such a staple, it is essential that you use tomatoes that have a lot of flavor. You should be able to smell the tomato, and it should have a little bit of give, but not be mushy.
Marinara
You can’t have spaghetti without marinara sauce. And you can’t have marinara sauce without tomatoes. This dish calls for a significant amount of tomatoes that need to be peeled and stewed. It’s labor intensive if you are doing it from scratch, though most people used canned tomatoes.
Chicken Tiki Masala
This is one of the most well known Indian dishes and its base comes from tomatoes! But it doesn’t stop there. Indian recipes like tiki masala call from a lot of spices to create their unique flavor.
Chili
If you’ve never made this dish from scratch, you may not know that it has a tomato base. But it does! You pair whole peeled tomatoes and tomato paste with a bunch of spices, kidney beans, and a few essential vegetables and you have some spicy chili on your hands ready to pair with cornbread.
Tomatoes are usually quite misunderstood and underappreciated in our opinion. But we hope that this blog post has helped you to see that they are a wonderful addition to many delicious dishes. Come to Redlands Ranch Market to pick out the freshest tomatoes and any other fruits and vegetables that you need today.