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The Venues Collection Grow Club – Tomato Seeds

At The Venues Collection, we love using fresh tomatoes to flavour and finish our dishes.
Once you’ve grown your tomato plants, why not use them in some of these delicious recipes, including a British Heritage Tomato Salad, Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce and Homemade Red Pepper and Tomato Soup.

Facts About Tomatoes

• Tomatoes are a Fruit
• There are 3,000 varieties of Heritage Tomatoes being grown globally and more than 15,000 varieties in total.
• Per 80g serving
• 11 kcal
• Counts of one of your 5 a day
• Contains vitamin C, Potassium, and Fibre

Ingredients:

  • Heritage tomatoes, 480g
  • Garlic, 40g
  • Basil, 40g
  • White Onion, 200g
  • British Rapeseed Oil, 60g
  • Rocket or Salad leaves, 70g

British Heritage Tomato Salad

This can be served as a light lunch, a starter or as a great bowl of salad to accompany your dishes.

Method:

Burnt Onion Powder

  1. Peel onions and slice, cook in a dry pan pinch of salt to encourage the onion to release its moisture
  2. Cook on medium heat until dark in colour but not charcoal
  3. Transfer to a lined baking tray and cook at 160ᵒc for 20 minutes to dry completely
  4. Cool and chop.
  5. This can be stored in an airtight container for future use – up to one month

Confit Garlic

  1. Remove garlic cloves from the bulb and leave them in their skins and whole.
  2. Cover in the rapeseed oil and add to the oven for 1 hour on 90ᵒc
  3. Once cooled remove garlic from the skins and crush, add back to the oil and whisk with salt and pepper and reserve for the tomatoes.

Tomato Salad

  1. Prepare tomatoes to vary sizes and colours.
  2. Pick basil leaves and mix with the tomatoes and the garlic dressing, season with salt. (tip – don’t waste the basil stalks, why not keep them to add to water or cocktail infusions or simply chop finely and add to the tomato salad for texture and added flavour)

To Plate

  1. Start with a base of the dressed tomatoes and basil
  2. Dress rocket in dressing remaining from the bowl of tomatoes
  3. Top the tomatoes with the rocket or your salad of choice.
  4. Sprinkle with the onion powder to finish

Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce:

Ripe tomatoes, garlic, British Rapeseed oil, fresh basil and a little black pepper

Method:

STEP 1

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

STEP 2

Put the tomatoes onto a large, deep roasting tray, with the garlic cloves, olive oil, black pepper and plenty of salt. Put into the oven for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and sticky.

STEP 3

Tip the tomatoes into a bowl and squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into the bowl. Use a hand blender to pulse until smooth-ish. Keep warm.

STEP 4

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti following pack instructions until al dente.

STEP 5

Use tongs to drag the spaghetti into the sauce and toss to combine. Divide between bowls and top with basil leaves.

Ingredients:

  • Halved, ripe tomatoes, 750 grams
  • Garlic (skin on), 6 Cloves
  • Basil leaves, Handful
  • British Rapeseed Oil, 4 tbsp
  • Spaghetti, 400 grams
  • Ground Black Peppercorns, ½ tbsp

Ingredients:

  • Halved, ripe tomatoes, 400 grams
  • Red Onion quartered, 1
  • Red Peppers, chopped 2
  • British Rapeseed Oil, 2 tbsp
  • Garlic Cloves, 2
  • Thyme Sprigs, Handful
  • Red Wine Vinegar, 1 tbsp
  • Ricotta, 2 tbsp
  • Basil leaves, Handful
  • Bread to serve

Homemade Red Pepper and Tomato Soup:

Rich tomato soup, perfect for cold nights, or for a pick-me-up

Method:

STEP 1

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

STEP 2

Put the tomatoes, onion and peppers in a roasting tin, toss with the oil and season. Nestle in the garlic and thyme sprigs, then roast for 25-30 mins until all the veg has softened and slightly caramelised.

STEP 3

Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the tin, strip the leaves off the thyme and discard the stalks and garlic skins. Mix the vinegar into the tin then blend everything in a bullet blender or using a stick blender, adding enough water to loosen to your preferred consistency (we used around 150ml).

STEP 4

Reheat the soup if necessary, taste for seasoning, then spoon into two bowls and top each with a spoonful of ricotta, a few basil leaves, the seeds and a drizzle of oil. Serve with bread for dunking.