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Love Food Hate Waste: Crostini with Tomato jam – recipe courtesy of Richard Fox

As we stumbled across British Tomato Week a couple of weeks ago, this has got us thinking about how tomatoes are truly one of the most versatile fruits on the market.

In our quest to find out more about the wonderful world of tomatoes, we came across a great tip on the British Tomato Growers’ Association website which explains that as tomatoes are sub-tropical fruit and dislike the cold, they should be kept at room temperature  – over ripe tomatoes will go soft even more quickly in the fridge. So to reduce the amount of waste we produce, it’s certainly best to keep tomatoes in a kitchen cupboard instead of the fridge so they last longer.

Tomatoes can be used in almost any dish such as soups, drinking juice, sauces (for curries, pasta, con carne, pies), salads, sandwiches and so much more! What’s best, is that tomatoes which are beginning to turn can always be used in sauces and soups – so really speaking, we should never throw away our tomatoes as they’re delicious in most meals (it’s no wonder we love them so much at Waste Less Save More).

So to inspire you to think twice before throwing away tomatoes that are beginning to turn, we wanted to share our favourite Love Food Hate Waste tomato based recipe with you. If you’ve already looked at the LFHW website, then you will understand that there are hundreds of recipes to choose from, but here’s our favourite – perfect for sharing!

Crositini with tomato jam and non-pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 courgette
• 1 stale baguette
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 6 squidgy, over-rips tomatoes
• 1tsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Method:

1. Slice the baguette into 1/2cm slices and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
2. Drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle liberally with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Place in a 180°C pre-heated oven until lightly golden around the edges and allow to cool.

Tomato Jam

1. Gently fry the onion until soft and golden
2. Add the tomato puree and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and herbs and cook on a low heat until all the liquid has disappeared and you left with a rich, dark, jam consistency. This should take about fifteen minutes. Allow to cool.
4. To prepare the courgette, simple slice lengthwise about ½ cm thick and season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil.
5. Char-grill on a ribbed char-grill plate for a few minutes on each side.
6. To serve, put a little tomato jam on each crostini, and then top with a little ‘Non Pesto’.
7. Finally, garnish with thin strips of the char-grilled courgette.

Top Tips:

• The tomato jam uses over –ripe, squidgy tomatoes that so often go in the bin, while you finish with a flurry of finely sliced char-grilled courgette which had started to go a little too bendy for other meals.

• The cooked baguette can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place (not the fridge) for days.

• You can also store the courgette strips in the fridge ready to chop up and stir into a salad or pasta dish.

Goraeddfed ond perffaith!

Pan ddaethom ar draws Wythnos Domatos Prydain ychydig wythnosau yn ôl, fe wnaeth i ni ddechrau meddwl am domatos, a sylweddoli mai dyma un o’r ffrwythau mwyaf amlddefnydd ar y farchnad.

Wrth fynd ati i ddysgu mwy am fyd lliwgar tomatos, gwelsom syniad gwych ar wefan Cymdeithas Tyfwyr Tomatos Prydain sy’n esbonio y dylai tomatos, gan eu bod yn ffrwyth isdrofannol sy’n casáu’r oerfel, gael eu cadw ar dymheredd ystafell – bydd tomatos goraeddfed yn meddalu’n gyflymach yn yr oergell. Felly, er mwyn lleihau’r gwastraff rydym ni’n ei gynhyrchu, dylid cadw tomatos mewn cwpwrdd yn y gegin yn hytrach na’r oergell er mwyn ymestyn eu hoes.

Gellir defnyddio tomatos mewn unrhyw fath o saig bron a bod, fel cawl, sudd yfed, saws (ar gyfer cyri, pasta, côn carne, pastai), salad, brechdanau a llawer mwy! Gorau oll yw’r ffaith y gellir defnyddio tomatos goraeddfed mewn saws a chawl – felly mewn gwirionedd, ni ddylem fyth daflu ein tomatos gan eu bod yn flasus mewn unrhyw bryd bwyd bron a bod (d’oes ryfedd ein bod ni’n dwli arnyn nhw gymaint yn Gwastraffu Llai Arbed Mwy).

Felly, er mwyn eich annog i feddwl eto cyn taflu tomatos goraeddfed, roeddem am rannu ein hoff Rysáit tomatos Hoffi Bwyd Casáu Gwastraff gyda chi. Os ydych chi wedi edrych ar wefan LFHW eisoes, byddwch chi’n deall fod yna gannoedd o ryseitiau i ddewis ohonynt, ond hwn yw ein ffefryn – yn berffaith i’w rannu!

Crostini gyda jam tomato ac nid pesto

Cynhwysion:

• 1 courgette
• 1 hen ffon fara
• 1 winwnsyn wedi’i sleisio’n fân
• 6 tomato meddal, goraeddfed
• 1 llwy de o biwrî tomato
• 1 llwy de o berlysiau cymysg sych
• 2 glof o arlleg, wedi’u malu

Dull:

1. Sleisiwch y ffon fara’n sleisys ½ cm a’u gosod yn un haenen ar hambwrdd pobi.
2. Ysgeintiwch ag ychydig o olew olewydd a digonedd o halen môr a phupur du mâl.
3. Rhowch mewn popty wedi’i gynhesu ymlaen llaw i 180°C tan fydd yr ymylon yn frown golau a gadewch i oeri.

Jam Tomato

1. Ffrïwch y winwnsyn tan yn feddal ac yn euraidd
2. Ychwanegwch y piwrî tomato a choginiwch, gan droi am funud neu ddau.
3. Ychwanegwch y tomatos wedi’u torri’n fân, y garlleg a’r perlysiau a choginiwch ar wres isel tan y bydd yr hylif wedi diflannu gan adael jam trwchus, tywyll. Dylai hyn gymryd tua chwarter awr. Gadewch i oeri.
4. I baratoi’r courgette, sleisiwch ar ei hyd tua ½ cm o drwch ac ychwanegwch halen a phupur. Ysgeintiwch ag olew olewydd.
5. Coginiwch ar blât golosgi am rai munudau bob ochr.
6. I weini, rhowch ychydig o jam tomato ar bob crostini, a rhoi ychydig o ‘Nid Pesto’ ar ben hwnnw.
7. Yn olaf, addurnwch â stribedi tenau o’r courgette wedi’i olosgi.

Syniadau:

• Mae’r jam tomato’n defnyddio tomatos meddal, goraeddfed sy’n cael eu taflu i’r bin yn aml, a gallwch ei orffen gyda sleisys o courgette wedi’u grilio a oedd wedi dechrau plygu’n rhy hawdd ar gyfer prydau bwyd eraill.

• Gellir storio’r ffon fara wedi’i choginio mewn cynhwysydd aerglos mewn lle oer, sych (nid mewn oergell) am ddiwrnodau.

• Gallwch hefyd storio’r stribedi courgette yn yr oergell yn barod i’w torri a’u cymysgu mewn salad neu saig pasta.