Making the most of tomatoes

and a recipe for Sungold cherry tomatoes with fennel pollen, basil and chili

The people have spoken.

In my recent poll about how to best make a height-of-summer tomato sandwich, voters overwhelming said that toasted was the way to go.

The people have spoken

But no matter which way you slice it, the fact of the matter is we are in the middle of summer’s annual tomato deluge and I couldn’t be happier.

Beyond the sublime tomato sandwich (toasted or otherwise), there’s no shortage of great recipes to make the most of summer tomatoes, including ways to preserve them for the long winter months ahead. Want an an easy recipe to make the most of gorgeous, flavour-packed cherry tomatoes—especially the amazing Sungold? Look no further than this recipe, which has a secret ingredient that you should always have in your kitchen pantry—fennel pollen.

Sungold tomatoes with fennel pollen, basil and chili

serves 4 as an appetizer

When tomatoes are this good, we want to cherish them in their natural state—ripe and juicy and not at all cooked. But when those last-of-summer tomatoes are struggling a wee bit they can benefit from the help of some heat and time.

Here are two ways to serve tomatoes in both those states, each one sharing a secret flavour bomb ingredient: fennel pollen. The first iteration, pictured above, was inspired by a fabulous starter we had at Ci Siamo in New York. The second method was shared by my good friend Sorya, and makes the most of tomatoes who may be on their last legs. Regardless of method, it’s a good reminder that by adding a little pinch of something, we can make something good really great.

Note: Fennel pollen is expensive but a little goes a very long way. You can substitute finely ground fennel for the pollen. See below for recipe variation.

Ingredients

2 cups ripe and juicy cherry tomatoes, preferably Sungolds, or a mix of colours

The juice of one orange, strained

2 tablespoons olive oil

A handful of fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon fennel pollen, more to taste (see Note)

One small fresh red chili, cut into one inch pieces

Flaky salt

Crusty bread for serving

Halve the cherry tomatoes and place them in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Pour the orange juice mixture over the tomatoes and gently mix to combine.

Choose a shallow serving bowl and line the bottom with the basil leaves. Pour in the tomatoes and sprinkle with the fennel pollen and another pinch of salt. Place two or three pieces of chili to garnish and serve alongside crusty bread.

Variation

If your tomatoes are starting to lose their summer shine, simply roast them. Heat oven to 425F. Use whatever tomatoes you have on hand, cored and cut into thick slices. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle them with fennel pollen. When the oven reaches 425F, put the baking sheet in the oven, turn it off and leave the tomatoes overnight. In the morning you will have deeply flavoured tomatoes that can be used as a side dish, in a salad, on crusty bread or wherever your imagination leads you.

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