I have a greenhouse in the garden where I grow mainly tomatoes every year. There are some plants with cucumber and peppers also, but most of the surface is occupied by tomato plants. There are many reasons for that. First, I use a lot of tomatoes in my cooking. Second, they are easy to grow. And third, it’s almost impossible to find good quality tomatoes in the grocery stores here in Sweden. Sometimes you can find a variety that tastes something, but too often the taste is very close to water.
The only problem is what to do with all the tomatoes. Of course, I grow far too much every year. My main excuse is that it’s good to have plants in reserve if some would die. But that doesn’t happen very often. Few plants are hardier than tomato plants. The fact that everyone in the family wants to have their own tomato plant also contributes to the huge amounts of ripe tomatoes in the greenhouse at this time of year.
My neighbor looks at the greenhouse every day as he walks to the car. I know what he’s thinking. How the hell are they going to eat all those tomatoes? The answer is, of course, that we can’t.
We eat as much as can, and we give away a lot of tomatoes to friends and relatives. But there are still tomatoes left. And they will soon start rotten if I don’t do anything with them.
Imagine that. Me, the guy who agitates against food waste whenever I get a chance, has a greenhouse full of tomatoes rotting away.
That’s really bad.
So I have started making tomato sauce, I freeze them, and I’m thinking about making some tomato paste. It’s more or less the same procedure as last year.
But this year I have tried something new. Roasted tomatoes marinated in olive oil, garlic, and herbs. Suddenly the greenhouse doesn’t look so overfilled with tomatoes anymore. I have found a new favorite. These cherry tomatoes are full of taste before they get into the oven. But after they have been roasted, they can only be described as small sensations. The sweet, concentrated tomato taste almost explodes in your mouth.
