At the Market: Tomatoes — The world’s most popular fruit is in abundance now - Boulder Daily Camera

Boulder County Farmers Markets

Ah, the tomato.

From little cherry tomatoes to decorate your fresh salads and pastas to giant heirloom varieties to eat in your sandwiches (or on their own, with a little sea salt) there’s a reason tomatoes are the world’s most popular fruit.

It’s hard to even imagine world cuisine without tomatoes. Pizza, salsa, marinara, bolognese, gazpacho, BLTs, stir-fries and the ultimate comfort food: Warm tomato soup paired with a grilled cheese sandwich or a cheesy garlic bread. We consumed, as a planet, more than 182 million metric tons of tomatoes in 2018. (Second runner-up was bananas, with about 116 million metric tons.)

Buy them by the handful, or like many of our friends and customers, by the crate this time of year. It’s a perfect time to buy them and preserve them for later in the year, when that craving for a lasagna or chili really hits. You’ll taste warmth, comfort, and best of all in the depth of winter: You’ll taste summer.

Speaking of comfort food, if you haven’t tried Frasca’s Tomato Risotto, this is the season for it. You can see the recipe on our website at bcfm.org/tomato_risotto/.

Few things preserve better: If you like to can, now is the time. Or place your peeled, clean tomatoes in water and some salt in a reusable container and simply freeze them. You can also puree your haul, and put it in reusable containers or in ice cube trays to save for recipes later on.

That’s if you have patience not to gobble them up minutes after you get home from the markets. A picnic with great crusty bread, a variety of cheeses, perhaps a salami and fresh tomatoes is divine. A simple sandwich featuring buttered artisan bread and thick slices of tomato with some salt makes a great lunch and is easy to pack for a road trip or mountain hike.

Here, we’re offering a classic Belgian recipe that makes the best of both worlds: Fresh, cool and sweet stuffed tomatoes eaten the day you bring them home, with leftover inner flesh that you can save and freeze for cloudier days. (Actual clouds, not the infernal smoky haze we’ve been living with this summer in our region.)

How many to make is really the question. The Belgians tend to serve it as a first course, so one medium-sized tomato, or two smaller ones will suffice. We like it as a main course, though. Depending on your appetites, giant beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes will work here, or a variety of colors and sizes served on a pretty bed of lettuce. Just double or triple the salad to feed your family and guests.

It’s a terrific party food, because you can make the salad in advance and then stuff the tomatoes as guests arrive.

We offer curbside ordering all year. Sign up an account, and we’ll send you updates on Sunday morning for Boulder and Lafayette pickups. The windows for curbside are 1 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday for Boulder and Lafayette and noon Tuesday-Thursday for Denver and Longmont.

The Boulder pickup is fun and friendly. Order your food by 1 p.m. Tuesday, then attend the beer garden on Wednesday evening. Listen to the live music, enjoy your friends and family, meet with local farmers and find hidden treasures, and leave with your curbside order.

Tomate Aux Crevettes (Shrimp-stuffed tomatoes)

• 1 pound peeled cooked shrimp, tails removed, chopped. (Or, alternatively, you can have a mix of shrimp and lobster.)
• 1 stalk celery, finely minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons aioli or mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
• Pinch of freshly ground pepper
• 4 large ripe tomatoes, cored and seeded (Reserve the insides for later use, such as sauces and soups.)
• Lettuce (any kind)

Directions: 

• Combine shrimp, celery, basil, shallot, aioli or mayonnaise, vinegar and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. (This can be done in advance; cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• Slice stems off each tomato. Reserve the tops: It makes a pretty presentation. Carefully hollow out the inside of each tomato using a melon baller or small spoon. To serve, fill each tomato with a generous 1/2 cup of the shrimp salad.
• Line plates with lettuce leaves and place stuffed tomatoes on top. Put the tops of tomatoes on top of each tomato for decoration.

If you make this recipe show us your photos! We’re on Instagram at @BCFM.

At the market this week

Tomatoes in every color and several varieties. Apricots, kohlrabi, carrots and peaches. Beer garden on Wednesday nights starting at 4 p.m. in Boulder. We have ready-to-bake frozen goodies and comfort food. Browse the markets, soak in the live music and friendships new and old. Check out our curbside offerings and stop by the markets. Cucumbers and zucchini. Local cheeses in many varieties and mushrooms of several types and sizes. Pierogies in several flavors, farm-fresh eggs, tamales, pasta, spinach, potatoes, kombucha, green onions, local honey, granola, vegan ice cream. Radishes and tender greens. In-person markets are open in Longmont, Boulder and Denver every Saturday. Curbside available in Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette and Denver. Shop online at bcfm.org.

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