You Say Tomato, I Say Tomatoes in the Slow Cooker

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

I am proud to say that I have finally achieved gardening success. After a few years of trying to grow non productive tomato plants in the mostly shaded back patio of my old apartment, there is a bumper crop of fresh tomatoes in my new garden. All it took was a nice sunny patch of land, a very small amount of labor, and some semi-regular watering; now my gardening efforts appear to be paying back dividends that are far greater than the total effort I put in.

All in all, I planted six tomato plants--ranging from the classic red Brandywine tomato to yellow tomatoes, and of course San Marzano plum tomatoes for making pasta sauce. In between the tomato plants, I planted basil. I remember reading somewhere that they grow alongside each other very well, so they are not only culinary companions but also garden companions. We got them in the ground a little later than the preferred planting time of mid May, but not too late to be rewarded with what seems like hundreds of tomatoes.

We returned home from vacation about a month ago to see that on each tomato plant, the buds had blossomed into actual tomatoes. In and of itself I found this to be a stunning achievement after my years of fruitless tomato plants. I was so excited to finally have homegrown tomatoes that soon after I decided to pick a couple and quickly set to work making some delicious and juicy Southern fried green tomatoes.

Over the last few weeks we have been patiently waiting for the rest of the tomatoes to ripen and now it seems like we have red ripe tomatoes coming out our ears. I thoroughly enjoy the simple flavor of a perfectly ripe tomato and some torn fresh basil seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper. Even better is the addition of some fresh mozzarella cheese.

I have also been adding tomatoes to almost all of my cooking. They are delicious sliced fresh into salads or thrown into the slow cooker with whatever you are cooking for dinner. Add the tomatoes at the beginning and remove the skins that rise to the top before serving or put them in near the end of the cooking time if you want them to retain some of their texture. Whether in the raw or cooked until they melt into a dish, tomatoes are the ideal accompaniment to your late summer meals.

It has been raining over the last couple days so it was the ideal time to make this Mediterranean braised lamb dish. It’s a simple combination of lamb, garlic and rosemary, complimented by the flavor of tomato. We served it with steamed couscous and sautéed spinach. Another delicious accompaniment would be roasted red potatoes or fresh baked French bread.

Over the weekend, I’ll be picking many of the ripening tomatoes off the vine. Those that we are unable to eat immediately will definitely be put to good use for later in the year. An easy way to save a summer’s worth of tomato crop is to trim them and slice them lengthwise and cook over low heat in your crockpot for 4-6 hours with a bit of olive oil and some fresh herbs such as basil or thyme. Then you can save the tomatoes in small zippered freezer bags for use later in the year. You’ll appreciate that fresh burst of sun-ripened flavor in the chilly days of autumn and winter!

Serves/Makes: 6

• 1/2 cup dry red wine or chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder or leg of lamb
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch slices
• 6 plum tomatoes, quartered
• 1 large lemon, finely grated zest only
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, roughly chopped