Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes were my market find of the day! These ones are quite sweet and less acidic than other cherry tomatoes. In the past, local cherry tomatoes were generally sour and lacked flavor. Recently, however, some growers have been cultivating new hybrids with good results. These tomatoes were uniformly sized and they were ripe without being mushy. At the AANI FTI Saturday Market today I found three baskets full of these gorgeous tomatoes from a favored vendor near the center of the market. I believe these were grown up North in the Mountain Province but I am not totally certain. They are closer to the grape tomatoes that are all the rage in Western magazines and restaurants at the moment. Though not as sweet as a grape tomato, these will do just fine, thanks.

I plan to prepare this as a tomato salad with fresh mozzarella cubes, shredded italian basil (red and/or green), tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. Alternatively, these would be delicious with crumbled roquefort or blue cheese and a vinaigrette. You can also pop them into an oiled baking dish and cook them slowly in the oven to intensify their flavor and serve as a side dish with a roast chicken or other main course. If you do a really slow bake at say 220 degrees F for hours, you can make semi-dried tomatoes that go superbly with a salad, antipasto platter or with toasted french bread.

At P180 a kilo, these are a bit pricey but a little does go a long way. Happy foraging!