tomato Archives - Pamela Salzman

Tomato, Roasted Pepper and Basil Strata (with Leftover Hamburger Buns) Recipe

I hope you had a fantastic 4th of July weekend! There’s a good chance if you hosted a party, that you have some leftover hamburger or hot dog buns lying around. What were you planning on doing with them? Bread crumbs? Great idea. Croutons? Another great idea. Putting them in the freezer for the next time you make burgers or dogs? Good luck with that one. My freezer is basically one-third buns. They’re all freezer-burned too, because I was lazy and threw the bags in there and didn’t bother to wrap the buns tightly in foil first. And my kids reject previously frozen buns. They would rather eat a hot bog or a burger without a bun over one that has been previously frozen. It’s kind of annoying since we’re a family of 5 and you can’t buy a bag of 5 buns. And I cannot handle wasting food, even a silly hamburger bun.

So I came up with this strata using leftover hamburger buns that had been sitting in my freezer and that I absolutely knew would end up in the compost bin. Stratas are kind of like savory bread puddings, more bread-y than an egg-y quiche or frittata . I actually prefer a frittata, but my husband and kids love their bread! I posted a strata on my site a few years ago with spinach, tomatoes and feta. Super delicious and I love that you can put it together the night before to soak in the fridge and then you bake it in the morning easy peasy.

I essentially took what I had — a large tomato, half a red onion, a handful of baby mozzarella balls and a jar of roasted peppers in the fridge, plus some basil from my patio, and combined them with eggs and milk and voila! No one had any idea that I used leftover, previously frozen buns. And no one had any idea they were all different, including a whole grain sprouted bun! Of course, gluten-free buns work equally well. A strata is so versatile that if you had some leftover roasted zucchini, you could throw it in there too. Or a link of leftover sausage or a handful of corn kernels. And if you wanted a higher proportion of eggs, go for it. Just bake until the strata feels “set.” So no liquid gushes out when you push on the center of the strata and it kind of bounces back a bit.

What’s also cool about this is that you can make it for breakfast, lunch or (Meatless Monday) dinner. I served it in these photos with some lightly dressed arugula and I think that’s the best accompaniment or just a simple green salad. But any non-starchy vegetable, like green beans or summer squash, would be great, too. Because bread is the main ingredient, I wouldn’t serve another starch with a strata. But I would serve it with a cold glass of rosé. Happy summer!

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Tomato, Roasted Pepper and Basil Strata

Pamela

5 from 5 votes

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Ingredients

1 Tablespoon unrefined cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing skillet
½ large red onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
a pinch of red pepper flakes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk or unsweetened plain hemp milk or milk of choice
¾ teaspoon sea salt or 1 teaspoon if your mozzarella is unsalted
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
6 ounces bocconcini baby fresh mozzarella cheese, drained if in water
1 large tomato seeded (if desired) and diced
1 roasted red or yellow bell pepper sliced into thin strips
a handful of basil leaves julienned
5-6 ounces of whole wheat spelt or sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes, about 8 cups, preferably a little stale
For the Salad:
6 ounces baby arugula
good aged balsamic vinegar
unrefined cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Instructions

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 3-4 minutes, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds, then remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, sea salt and pepper. Stir in the bocconcini, tomato, roasted red pepper, basil, bread and onion-garlic mixture, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. You don’t have to soak overnight, but I love the way the bread soaks up the mixture. Feel free to put it straight in the oven.
If you soaked it overnight, remove the strata from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch skillet (or a 9-inch pie plate or equivalent) with olive oil and pour the strata mixture into the skillet.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until egg mixture is set and top is golden brown.
Remove strata from oven and allow to cool slightly.
While the strata is cooling, toss the arugula with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil (just enough to coat) and sprinkle with salt.
Top the strata with the arugula salad and serve, or cut the strata into serving size pieces and top each piece with arugula salad.

Notes

Unbaked strata can be frozen if wrapped tightly. Thaw in the refrigerator before baking, uncovered.

MINI-STRATAS: grease 4 individual ramekins or muffin tins. First layer bread then vegetables and cheese. Last, pour egg, milk, salt and pepper on top. Refrigerate overnight, if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Avocado Toast

A perfect avocado completes me. I have a mild obsession with them. If you gave me a choice between mashed avocado on a piece of toast or an ice cream sandwich, I honestly wouldn’t even think twice about it! I am more addicted to avocados than I ever was to sugar. Hmmm, ok maybe not completely true. But I have a healthier relationship with avocados. Right now is my favorite time of year, because I’ve got all my besties — tomatoes, peaches, figs, corn, basil and Reed avocados. What’s a Reed avocado? If you don’t know the answer, I already feel sorry for you that you haven’t experienced the mother of all avocados. In my humble opinion, Reeds are TOPS, at least in this country. My mother-in-law often reminisces about avocados from her native Puerto Rico and I have a student from Mexico who thinks that hers are the best. I think they’re both just feeling nostalgic, because I don’t know how you can beat a Reed.

Just look at them! They’re as big as softballs with a generous ratio of meat to pit and soooooooo creamy and rich. Sinful! But they’re not, because avocados are amazingly good for you. Perfect, untouched, non-oxidized, healthful fats, plus fiber and loads of Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant. Avocados are an incredible food for little ones whose brains are developing. And I think they’re an awesome beauty food — so great for your skin. Also, this happens to be a drying time of year, especially for the lungs and wouldn’t you know avocados are lubricating to the lungs, as well as to the intestines. Love it.

I have so many recipes on my site which use avocados, from salads to dressings to soups to smoothies. But my favorite way to eat an avocado is on toast. The contrast between soft and buttery avocado and crunchy toast makes me swoon. Ditch your Saturday morning bagel and cream cheese and go this route on a good whole grain bread. Delicious and so much better for you! There are lots of ways I prepare avocado toast and I posted a few images here. Most of the time, I eat this for breakfast either on spelt or millet toast. But it’s also the perfect afternoon snack for you or your kids. The fat in avocados really keeps you satisfied for so much longer than a popsicle or a bags of chips. Not that you eat that, but if you did, avocado toast is a way better snack. Right now, I’m buying Reeds at the farmers market 3 for $5 and I have also seen them in Whole Foods for $2.50 each. I’ve been suckered by some markets with their $.69 avocados, and 90% of the time, they’re horrible. That feeling of slicing into an avocado that looks like it should be good and then isn’t is THE WORST!

My advice to you is buy your avocados underripe and allow them to ripen on the countertop. If you try to buy them already ripe at the store, they’ve been squeezed a thousand times and that’s why they’ll have mushy brown spots when you open them. Avocados are ripe when they give slightly to gentle pressure. I have also found that when you remove the small dark stem from the top, if the color underneath is pale yellow, it’s ready! Green means it’s underripe and brown or black means it’s going in the compost heap. Once they are ripe, you can refrigerate them until you’re ready to eat them. Keep in mind that the skin of Reed avocados stay perfectly green even when ripe, as opposed to Haas which turn dark brown/black. And now the bad news. Reed avocados are only in season from August through October so enjoy them while you can!

Are you an avocado toast fan? What’s your favorite combo?

avocado toast

There really isn’t a “recipe” for this, just a few of my favorite combinations. I like a lot of avocado on my toast, but you may choose to have less. Just go with whatever seems right to you.

Mashed or sliced avocado on toasted or grilled bread with:

~a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of red chili flakes and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

~thinly sliced smoked wild salmon or lox and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

~sliced ripe tomato with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. A drizzle of olive oil is good, too.

~a drop of shoyu or good quality soy sauce, a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds or gomasio.

~a fried egg and a pinch of salt. A sprinkle of chopped chives is nice, too.

avocado bread smoked salmon tomato

Homemade Marinara (Tomato) Sauce Recipe

Growing up in an Italian home meant never eating tomato sauce out of a jar. Ever. It wasn’t until a 6th grade girl scout camping trip when I tasted my first spaghetti and “Ragu” and it was an experience I would never forget. Unfortunately, I proceeded to get completely sick after I ate the foreign sauce and my mother had to come pick me up. Since then I’ve always had a thing against jarred.

The good news is that a delicious tomato sauce is quite easy to make, requiring very few ingredients and high fructose corn syrup isn’t one of them. In fact, the simpler the better. My mom would make tomato sauce in the winter a little thicker and richer than summer tomato sauce. She always started out sauteeing thinly sliced onions in olive oil and adding either canned tomatoes from the supermarket or tomatoes we had canned from our garden over the summer. Depending on the acidity of the tomatoes, sometimes she would add a pinch of sugar. Mom would also use tomato paste which gave a fantastic richness to the sauce, as well as dried oregano and basil since 30 years ago fresh herbs like this were definitely not available in New York in the dead of winter. This was her Sunday ritual and we often used the sauce multiple times during the week for pasta and various “alla parmigiana” recipes.

Fast forward to the 21st century where I have my own family which is crazy about Italian food of all kinds. Although he’s never admitted it, I think my husband might have married me to ensure eating red sauce-laden dishes on a regular basis. So I have been making my own pretty good sauce for many years, but I never really pushed myself to make a great sauce until Rao’s gave me a run for my money, literally. Once my husband tasted this new tomato sauce, he was completely hooked. I would not have cared that much except for the fact that Rao’s is insanely expensive (anywhere from $8-$11 for a 32 ounce jar) and I had just educated myself about the risks associated with consuming canned tomatoes, which all commercially prepared tomato sauces use. Well, drat. So I challenged myself to come up with a sauce that would make my husband happy flavor-wise and me happy both nutritionally and financially.

For many years I have been using Pomi chopped tomatoes in tetra-pak boxes which the company assured me are BPA-free and don’t leach aluminum. In addition, they use non-GMO tomatoes, although they are not certified organic. These are my first choice for tomatoes for sauce since I like a little texture in my marinara. If you really insist on organic tomatoes, your option is Bionaturae Organic strained tomatoes in a glass jar or Lucini whole peeled tomatoes (pricey.) Again, for me it’s a preference of texture that I choose Pomi. I also believe that a delicious sauce doesn’t skimp on the olive oil and neither does Rao’s at 48 grams of fat in a jar. I don’t use quite that much, but I’ve tried to make sauce with very little olive oil and it just isn’t the same. Lastly, I take my BFF, the immersion blender, and puree about half of the sauce in the pot before adding fresh basil and in my opinion, this is what makes the sauce great. The softened onions and oil get blended with the tomatoes and add a subtle sweetness that takes the place of my NOT BFF, sugar.But before you consider making this delightful sauce it is always recommended to opt for a clean corp house cleaning services.

Since pasta is a processed food which your body converts to sugar rather quickly, and one which is easily overeaten, I don’t make pasta all that often. That said, we do find many uses for tomato sauce including meatballs (recipe coming on Friday), pizza quesadillas on sprouted or spelt tortillas, as a dipping sauce for some vegetables, and for my husband’s favorite dish, “insert any food here” alla Parmigiana. Cooked tomatoes also have the bonus of being loaded with lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, and in addition, they increase the iron absorption of whatever food with which you combine it. Even more reason to say “mangia!”