Recipes with tomatoes

65 recipes. Page 2 of 3

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Mexican Cactus Salad (Lime-Dressed Nopal Cactus Pad)

Nopales, flat cactus pads from Mexico, release a slippery juice like okra when boiled, yet keep a pleasantly chewy, crisp bite once cooked. Sharp lime juice and grassy cilantro play against the cactus's mild green flavor, with tomato and onion tossed through. Prep starts with gloves and a knife, scraping the tiny spines off both faces and the edges. In Mexico it goes alongside tacos, grilled meat or beans.

🥗 Lighter Meals

Prep 20min Cook 12min 2 servings

Western Medium

Chicken Paprikash (Hungarian Paprika Chicken Stew with Sour Cream)

Almost all of the red color and aroma in this Hungarian stew comes from 2 tbsp of sweet paprika. The spice is stirred in only after the onion has turned soft and sweet and the heat is down low, because paprika scorches fast and turns bitter over strong heat. Tomato adds the acidity that cuts through rich chicken thighs. Sour cream, stirred in a little at a time over very gentle heat so it does not split, turns the sauce a softer orange with a mild tang. It is traditionally ladled over wide egg noodles or spaetzle.

Prep 15min Cook 40min 4 servings

Asian Easy

Eggplant Curry

The eggplant is cut into big cubes and browned on its cut faces before it goes anywhere near the coconut milk curry sauce. Raw eggplant would drink up oil and liquid and go limp; seared first, the cubes keep their corners after simmering and taste toasty where they hit the pan.

Prep 15min Cook 25min 2 servings

Rice Medium

Rajma Chawal (North Indian Kidney Bean Curry with Rice)

Rajma means kidney beans and chawal means rice, and that is the whole idea: a thick tomato and bean curry ladled generously over rice and eaten together. Onions cooked slowly until their edges brown give the sauce its body without any cream.

Prep 20min Cook 45min 4 servings

Soups Medium

Sinigang na Baboy (Filipino Tamarind Sour Pork Rib Soup)

Filipino families often make this on rainy days and ladle the broth over rice. The sourness comes from tamarind paste, and if it tastes too mild, another tablespoon goes in. Tomato and onion, added in big pieces, melt into the broth over 30 minutes of simmering.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 20min Cook 50min 4 servings

Noodles Easy

Tomato Egg Lamian (Chinese Home-Style Tomato Scrambled Egg Noodle Soup)

It tastes like Chinese home-style tomato and scrambled egg turned into a noodle soup, with sweet-sour tomato broth, soft egg curds and fresh noodles. The eggs are folded briefly and lifted out while still slightly wet, then return for only a minute at the end; fully cooked at the start, they would toughen in the final simmer. Pressing the tomatoes as they cook draws out the red juice that lets the pieces and the stock blend instead of sitting apart, and cooking them down well deepens the savory flavor. A little soy sauce and sugar only round off the tomato's acidity. Fresh noodles cook fast in the hot broth and come off the heat while the centers are still slightly firm.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 12min Cook 15min 2 servings

Pasta Medium

Sesame Soy Eggplant Tomato Penne

Even with no meat in the dish, each cube of eggplant, seared over high heat until just browned, soaks up tomato and soy sauce like a sponge and turns soft and savory. Sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds lend a nutty Korean finish, and fresh basil sits on top.

Prep 18min Cook 25min 4 servings

Salads Medium

Falafel Salad Bowl

Cooked chickpeas, onion and parsley are pulsed into a coarse mixture, shaped into small balls and baked or pan-fried into falafel that sit over romaine, tomato and cucumber under a tahini sauce. Done well, the falafel are deep golden and crisp outside but still moist within, a clear contrast to the raw vegetables. Lemon juice cuts the richness of the sesame-based tahini. No deep fryer is involved: the oven or a lightly oiled pan does the job.

🥗 Lighter Meals

Prep 20min Cook 15min 2 servings

Western Easy

Club Sandwich

Three slices of buttered toast hold two layers of sliced chicken, crisp bacon, lettuce, and tomato, with mayonnaise as the glue between them. A skewer through each stack lets you cut it on the diagonal without the layers sliding apart.

Prep 15min Cook 10min 2 servings

Asian Easy

Goan Fish Curry (Tangy Coconut Fish Stew)

Coconut milk makes it look rich and creamy, but tamarind gives it a sharp sourness, and it eats lighter than it looks. Fishing households on Goa's west coast eat this curry with rice every day, and locally the pair is called xitt-kodi. It carries traces of the Portuguese colonial period along with Konkani cooking traditions, and Goans of every religion and class share it.

Prep 15min Cook 20min 2 servings

Rice Easy

Tomato Egg Rice Bowl (Stir-fried Tomatoes with Soft Scrambled Eggs)

The eggs are cooked first until barely set and lifted out, then large tomato wedges go into the same pan with soy sauce and a little sugar. Some of the tomato breaks down into a thin sauce and the rest stays in pieces. The eggs return for a quick fold, and whatever red juice is left in the pan goes over the rice too.

Prep 10min Cook 12min 2 servings

Salads Easy

Fattoush Salad (Crispy Pita & Sumac Veggie Salad)

Oven-crisped pita chips anchor a Levantine vegetable salad, and sumac, a tart red spice, tints the tomato, cucumber, radish and romaine with color and sourness. Layering sumac with lemon, whose sourness is of a different kind, gives the dressing a fuller acidity. The chips are added just before eating, since they soften fast in the dressing, and each bite then has crisp centers and slightly soaked edges.

🥗 Lighter Meals

Prep 15min Cook 8min 2 servings

Western Easy

Huevos Rancheros (Fried Eggs on Tortilla with Salsa)

Warm corn tortillas carry a layer of half-mashed black beans, a fried egg, and a tomato salsa sharpened with jalapeño. What makes the plate go soggy is water: the salsa should be reduced until a spoon leaves a trail, and the beans thick enough to spread. Cook the whites fully, and use pasteurized eggs for a runny yolk. A squeeze of lime at the end is optional.

Prep 10min Cook 15min 2 servings

Asian Medium

Idli Sambar (Steamed Rice Cakes with Lentil Stew)

Idli are plain, spongy steamed cakes made from fermented rice and urad dal batter, and their job is to soak up sambar, a tangy, warm lentil stew. This version starts from ready-made idli batter, skipping the soaking, grinding, and overnight fermentation.

Prep 25min Cook 30min 4 servings

Rice Easy

Korean Tomato Egg Fried Rice

This takes the Chinese home classic of tomato and scrambled egg (xihongshi chao dan) and adds rice to the same pan. Sweet-sour tomato juice stains the rice red, with big, soft pieces of egg running through it.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes 🏠 Everyday

Prep 10min Cook 10min 2 servings

Salads Medium

Freekeh Herb Salad (Smoky Roasted Wheat & Fresh Herbs)

Freekeh starts as young green wheat that is fire-roasted on the stalk, then threshed and dried, which leaves a faint smoky note in every grain. Boiled, it stays chewy and keeps its shape among the vegetables. Parsley and cilantro, chopped down to their tender stems, lift the smoke with fresh green aroma, and lemon juice with olive oil forms the only dressing. Herbs stirred into hot grain lose their scent, so the freekeh is spread out to cool until just lukewarm first. An hour's rest after mixing lets the dressing soak into the grains.

🥗 Lighter Meals

Prep 14min Cook 20min 2 servings

Western Medium

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Corn tortillas cut into small pieces take the place of rice or noodles, softening in layers between shredded chicken and a thick tomato-cream sauce. The sauce starts with condensed mushroom soup used undiluted. Ready-to-eat soup in its place leaves the filling runny. Most of the heat comes from the salsa, so a mild or medium jar sets the tone before any chili seasoning. A short rest after baking lets the sauce settle into the tortillas and makes the squares easier to lift.

Prep 15min Cook 50min 4 servings

Asian Medium

İmam Bayıldı (Turkish Stuffed Eggplant)

Imam bayildi is not served warm; it waits in the fridge until fully chilled. This Turkish dish is eggplant peeled in stripes, filled with browned onion and tomato, and braised gently in olive oil, and on a cold plate nothing hides the taste of that oil. That is why the recipe asks for a good extra virgin olive oil.

Prep 20min Cook 50min 2 servings

Salads Easy

Greek Salad (Chunk-Cut Vegetable Toss with Feta)

Tomatoes and cucumber stay in big, rough chunks, so each bite keeps its own juice and crunch. Sweet bell pepper, briny olives and salty feta layer on top, and the oil and red wine vinegar are tossed in only until the vegetables look glossy. Thin slices of red onion keep its sharpness from covering the tomato, olives and feta. In Greece the feta traditionally sits on the salad as a single slab rather than crumbled; broken off bit by bit at the table, it mixes with the olive oil on the plate and becomes the dressing. Rough tossing crushes the tomatoes and leaves a pool of watery juice underneath.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes 🥗 Lighter Meals

Prep 15min 0 2 servings

Western Easy

Pan Bagnat (Nicoise Olive Oil Soaked Tuna Sandwich)

Unlike a dry baguette sandwich eaten right away, pan bagnat is meant to soak: the bread takes in olive oil and red wine vinegar, then gets pressed in the fridge. During that time the tuna, boiled egg, tomato, red onion, olives and anchovies settle into compact layers.

Prep 20min 0 2 servings

Asian Easy

Keema Matar (Indian Spiced Minced Meat and Pea Curry)

There is almost no sauce here, just minced lamb cooked until moist and clumping, to be spooned onto naan or chapati; the peas go in at the very end and still pop when bitten.

Prep 15min Cook 30min 4 servings

Salads Easy

Israeli Salad

Tomato, cucumber and red onion are diced to half a centimeter or smaller, so a single spoonful carries juice, crunch and bite in equal measure. With only lemon juice, olive oil and salt as dressing, the ripeness of the tomatoes decides almost everything.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes 🥗 Lighter Meals

Prep 10min 0 2 servings

Western Easy

Picadillo Cubano (Cuban Ground Beef with Olives and Raisins)

Salty green olives and sweet raisins scattered through browned ground beef give this Cuban dish its push and pull of flavor. Cumin warms the beef, and crushed tomatoes reduce until they cling to the meat rather than pooling around it. Leaving the beef alone for a moment after it hits the pan lets it brown instead of turning gray and steamed.

Prep 15min Cook 25min 4 servings

Asian Easy

Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Split Chickpea Curry)

Starch from soaked chana dal, split chickpeas, thickens the pot into something spoonable, while cubed bottle gourd lends moisture and gentle sweetness. Small, nutty bits of chana stay noticeable in the finished dal, which is eaten warm over rice or scooped up with flatbread.

At least 1 hr 2 servings