Delicious tomato recipe + summer tomato musings
/Hello my loves!
It’s been a while, but here we are, right in the middle of high summer, with all of the incredible produce this time of year brings. I’ve been off the grid for the past couple of months, pottering, lolling about and pondering, but I’m now brimming with ideas for 2020 and beyond, and I can’t wait to share them with you when the time is right. This year you’ll be hearing from me a lot more regularly - one of my favourite pursuits in the world is writing to you about all things delicious and nourishing, so I’ll be popping up in your inbox once a week to share seasonal beauty, scrumptious recipes, and my thoughts on the modern state of nourishment we find ourselves in (aka a shit-show) and what we can do to change it.
Today I’m sharing a recipe that showcases three gorgeous summer ingredients that are smack-bang in season right now: tomatoes, walnuts and bouncing, booming summer basil.
Yes, tomato season is FINALLY here! I wait impatiently for its delicious arrival every. single. year, toes twitching as I anticipate that first burst of sweet, sunshine-y goodness. Although tomatoes start to trickle in around December, it's really only in high summer, aka now, when their sweet, sweet flavour really comes into play. Tomatoes lend themselves to all manner of deliciousness: one of my favourite summer breakfasts is a thick wodge of sourdough slathered with butter and topped with plumptious slices of juicy tomatoes. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a generous rain of salt and pepper, and THAT is Rachel breakfast heaven. Tomatoes also come up beautifully when roasted - a stint in a hot oven further intensifies their already incredible flavour - and in today’s recipe we’re doing just that.
Walnuts are also in season right now - this week alone I’ve seen two trees laden with them, one in my local park, and the other in the front yard of a house, hanging temptingly over the street. You can absolutely harvest your own and use them in this recipe, although it does take a fair amount of effort to extract them, firstly from their firm green outer wrapping, then from their wrinkly brown shells, and you are fully permitted to simply purchase them (I did) :).
I created this recipe for a Pocket City Farms event to make the most of their incredible tomato and basil harvest, and it was so lovely that I'm now sharing it with you. Call it a spread, call it a pesto, call it a dip, call it what you like and do with it what you will: this roasted tomato, walnut and basil concoction has so many uses I hardly know where to start. Spread it generously on sourdough, serve it with dippy veges and crackers, showcase it as part of a gorgeous summer platter, nestle it into a cheese board, heat it and pop a fat juicy piece of roasted fish on top of it, jar it up and gift it to all the summer birthday babies in your life, take it wherever your heart wants you to go. It's super simple, super delicious, and makes the most of everything that's delectable about summer. The recipe for my roasted tomato, walnut and basil pesto is here :).
Have a beautiful weekend gorgeous ones.
Love, Rachel xxx
