Twice the Bounty

Every once in a while I must write two full recipes in one column, because wonderful veggies and fruits will only be around for a short time.

My wonderful neighbors Shirl and Tom Campo brought me about 15 pounds of plum and Jersey tomatoes and peppers yesterday. The big ones I will eat in BLTs; the plum tomatoes I will roast today. Tomorrow I will make a ton of basil pesto from my garden. At this time of year, I have lots of pignoli nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and olive oil in the pantry. Both will freeze beautifully until it's time for next year's batches.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Roasted Tomatoes

Plum tomatoes

Sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

Line a large (or many large) rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil. (I use aluminum foil to make cleanup easy, although that's not very "green.")

Take as many plum tomatoes as you have, core them, and slice them once lengthwise. Place the tomatoes cut side up, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Place sheet pan(s) in the oven, heat oven to 250 or so degrees, and roast for 3 or more hours. The tomatoes will collapse into themselves. Remove pan(s) from the oven and allow to cool. Place as many roasted tomatoes as you might use in a sauce or stew in zippered plastic bags. Place in freezer. They will keep until it is tomato time next summer. (If your freezer has grates rather than glass shelves, be sure you put your plastic bags filled with tomatoes in plates until they've frozen. I made the mistake of not doing this once. It took me hours to scrape the tomatoes from the grates.)

Pesto alla Genovese

(From 365 Ways to Cook Pasta by Marie Simmons, Harper Collins, New York, 1988)

I triple or quadruple (or more) and freeze pesto in small, zippered plastic bags. The pesto will last for more than a year and will thaw in minutes in a small bowl of warm water.

Makes 1 cup or enough for 1 pound of pasta

2 cups packed, fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup pignoli (pine nuts)*

1 large garlic clove, chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese**

1 pound of pasta

(I like to use small shells, penne, or small rigatoni)

Finely chop basil, nuts, garlic, and salt in a food processor. With processor still running, add oil in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube until mixture is thoroughly blended. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the cheese.

Cook pasta until it is al dente (a bit chewy). Remove ½ cup of cooking liquid before draining pasta. Toss pasta with pesto and reserved cooking liquid. Can be served hot, at room temperature, or cold. Top with more grated cheese if desired.

*Pine nuts are very expensive, but worth it. Walnuts can be used in their place; the flavor will be different, but still tasty.

**Please do not use the grated cheese that comes in those containers that sit on the supermarket shelf. You cannot believe what a difference fresh, high-quality cheese makes. A good supermarket will grate Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for you (I have them grate Parmigiano-Reggiano and Romano together, which drives purists crazy) and you can store the cheese in an air-tight container in your refrigerator or freezer. Even better, buy a small chunk and grate it yourself as you need it.