Celebrating British Tomato Season with Isle of Wight Tomatoes (Ad – PR product)

Tomatoes are hands down one of my favourite things about Summer. A bold claim, maybe – but there’s just something about the fruit at the height of its season that no watery, out of season supermarket Tom can compare to. I could eat in-season cherry tomatoes like sweeties. Recently, Isle of Wight Tomatoes – whose produce I’ve tried and loved before in restaurants – got in touch and offered to send me a box; there was no obligation to share, but I was so inspired by the variety and quality of what they sent me that I couldn’t wait to. They kindly sent me a 3kg box of organic tomatoes including cherry vine, speciality beef and cocktail vine in a rainbow of colours. I shared two recipes on my Instagram and thought I’d post them here for posterity too.

First up, a tomato salad with burrata, peach and chilli. To serve four: roughly chop 500g tomatoes and one peach. Make a dressing with one tbsp olive oil, the zest and juice of half a lemon, one finely chopped chilli and a pinch of salt. Mix through the fruit. Serve with half a ball of burrata each, drizzled with the dressing and fruit. Delicious with fresh sourdough bread.

My second recipe is a tomato tarte tatin: you will need 500g tomatoes (a mixture of sizes), 25g butter, 25g caster sugar, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and one pack of puff pastry. First, make a caramel by heating the butter, sugar and balsamic over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and reduce to a caramel. Chop the tomatoes in half while it simmers. Pour your caramel over the bottom of a lined tart tin and spread quickly before it cools and sets. Arrange the tomatoes on top, cut side down.

Place your pastry over the top of the tomatoes, trimming the edges but leaving a little overhang. Tuck this inside the tin as neatly as you can. Cut a hole or two in the top to let out the steam. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 35 – 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before turning out the tart. When you’re ready to turn out, place a plate on top and flip quickly and confidently (I’d wear long oven gloves to protect your forearms). Reserve any caramel that escapes to drizzle over the top. Serve with fresh steamed asparagus.

PR product from Isle of Wight Tomatoes.