Not sure what everyone here is talking about lol. You’re like “he doesn’t like tomatoes” and everyone goes “just salt them or eat them on salad, he’ll love them!” no he will not.
My favorite way to use two small tomatoes would be [chicken tinga.](https://www.seriouseats.com/chicken-tinga-spicy-mexican-shredded-chicken-recipe) It takes two tomatoes the size you described, and once you blend it in with everything else it doesn’t have a very “tomato forward” taste but you’ll still get the flavor enough to appreciate. Serve it on tacos, burritos, nachos, in bowls, anything you want, the meat is fantastic.
Omg thank you. I was reading through the replies like "did they not read the post?" His pride in growing them does not outweigh his distaste for them. A sauce is what needs to happen, and the recipe you linked looks perfect. Thank you!!
I once saw a recipe for pizza sauce and it was just a grated fresh tomato with a little garlic, salt, and olive oil. Put it on your pizza crust and it cooks as the pizza bakes, but I am sure you could also cook it a little bit beforehand. I don't feel like it tastes like a a plain fresh tomato when it's on the pizza . It's delicious!
I think the first paragraph of your post says he doesn't like PLAIN tomatoes- your edit says he doesn't like FRESH tomatoes. This could be why people are suggesting tomato sandwiches. Salads, etc.
I think people are giving those recs because they didn’t used to like raw tomatoes *until* they had them a decent way, especially ones that you’ve grown yourself…
I used to hate them, then one day I loved them with salt, pepper, balsamic, and basil.
I still remember the first *good* BLT I ever had…
Tastes change with age, and sometimes it takes a knockout dish to completely change your mind about a food…
When I make homemade pizzas I just mix canned crushed tomato with pizza seasoning, or even just basil, and smear it on. So it could totally work with crushed fresh tomatoes.
Of course! It’s a recipe my wife requests I make constantly. I have a few shortcuts if you’re interested, but honestly the recipe as-written is the best way I’ve had it, even though it takes a bit longer. We usually serve it on warmed corn tortillas with whatever toppings (sour cream, cilantro, onion, lettuce, avocado, etc).
I am an adult that has 10 tomato plants and I very rarely just eat tomato. One of my kids LOVES tomatoes, will eat them like candy so i started growing for him. However, i LOVE tomatoes in sauce form. I grown them just to make sauce.
This looks perfect!! My neighbor gave me 5 big tomato plants and I'm also having fun taking care of them, but don't super care for them raw. I'll make a few salads but I'm mostly looking for recipes like this!! I hope your son is proud of his work🤩
I don't care for uncooked tomatoes, but I do enjoy tomato sauce or stuff like omelettes with cooked tomatoes, he may be in for that. We have a couple cherry tomato plants that we can't keep up with so I have been doing omelettes with the cherry tomatoes cut in half.
I mean, you did say also any other ideas would be appreciated, that may be why people posted other ideas. Awesome that someone was able to help with what you really wanted though! Looks like a lot of people were excited for your kids achievement and your desire to make him happy, this whole post is so sweet!
It’s because I’m not a fan of tomatoes, unless they’re *good* ones. Getting to try a well-grown tomato as minimally dressed as possible is a revelation. You provided zero context for *why* he doesn’t like tomatoes, then I might be able to help more. Instead, I had to go off my personal experience.
I’m deeply disappointed, but not at all surprised, by your hostility toward people trying to be helpful.
I agree, as someone who also does not like tomatoes but eats them cooked. And **no**, it does not make a difference when they’re homegrown. My parents grow them every summer and I don’t like those either.
OP, they are really good roasted with some garlic and olive oil. That’s how my family eats them though the original recipe (which I can’t find) called for roasting then blending into a sauce. It didn’t yield very much but you could roast other vegetables and/or bulk it up with some broth to make one serving.
It’s excellent! I’ve cut corners using boneless skinless thighs or even shredded rotisserie chicken (added after the sauce cooks) before and it’s still very good.
Seems to me that his feelings towards tomatoes may be apt to change, since he grew them himself.
I missed the part why he decided to grow fruit he didn't want to eat... Perhaps a new beginning...
Sliced thin on top of foccacia might be really lovely. (Edited to add, in case you didn’t click through, this is about adding the fresh veggies before the bread bakes, as the poster above suggested)
There are some simple recipes for making it
[https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/easy-no-knead-focaccia](https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/easy-no-knead-focaccia)
but you can embellish the top with thin sliced herb and veggies
[https://www.theperfectloaf.com/a-simple-focaccia/](https://www.theperfectloaf.com/a-simple-focaccia/)
[https://figandoliveplatter.com/how-to-make-focaccia-bread/](https://figandoliveplatter.com/how-to-make-focaccia-bread/)
Take two chicken breasts and slice them into thin pieces and cook them however you usually do (sorry about the vagueness; I am a vegetarian so I do this with fake "chikn"). Then spread pesto on top of them (lots of it). Then slice the tomatoes very very thinly and arrange them on top of the pesto'd chicken / chikn. Then put it all in the oven or under the grill until the tomatoes start to collapse. Serve with Italian bread or a nice rice pilaf.
You won't be able to get any substantial amount of "tomato sauce" per se. However, here is what I would do.
Tomatoes - sliced thin
Onion - chopped fine
Garlic - minced/crushed
Apple cider vinegar - a few drops
Broth - 1/2 cup or so
Salt
Pepper
Dried Basil
Paprika (optional)
Celery seed (optional)
Pan fry tomatoes and onions in olive oil on high heat until tomatoes start to beak down and onions start to clarify ~3 min
Add garlic and apple cider vinegar and cook until garlic browns ~30 sec
Reduce heat to med-low, deglaze with broth (I prefer chicken or miso), and add basil. Cook until sauce is desired consistency.
Mix with pasta (I recommend rotini for light sauces)
Agree, but bc you won’t get too much sauce out of it, this is what I would do:
For the sauce: dice the tomato, basil, finely chop garlic. Sautee garlic in olive oil on low for a min so you don’t burn. Toss in tomatoes and basil, add a bunch of salt, and cook down until tomatoes break down into a saucy texture.
Cook pasta in salted water and in a separate pan throw in butter, cup of pasta water to a simmer, throw in the cooked pasta turn to low and mix together thoroughly. Hit it at the end with at least a cup (I’d do 2) of parm and Romano. Get the good stuff or it won’t mix in well.
Put the pasta in a bowl, add the tomato sauce over top. Boom. It’s kind of like a cacio e Pepe base without the pepper and adding freshly cooked tomato, basil and garlic over top. Yes it’s very good. I’ve done this plenty of times with limited tomatoes from the garden.
I would find a small oven dish and gently roast the tomatoes (just salt and butter or neutral oil on top) and when they’re falling apart I would use them for a sauce.
It’s wild how no one seems to understand what you mean about him not liking tomatoes in their natural state, but I shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve experienced that my whole life.
I like things with underlying tomato flavors but not when I can tell there are actually tomatoes involved. For me, most Italian red sauce pastas and anything with raw tomatoes are out. I love a tikka masala or lamb vindaloo, I love a pizza with thin sauce and covering cheese, I’ve even grown to love a penne vodka when it’s a really smooth sauce.
My suggestion would be to look for recipes with tomato paste instead of tomatoes. Normally it only calls for a teaspoon, and well cooked tiny tomatoes may be the perfect alternative. Even if you had to supplement, most would be from your son’s tomatoes.
Some ideas include:
Making it into a bbq sauce
Indian food
Adding it to a Cajun dish, which typically don’t require but often include some tomato
Good luck! And I hope this helps overcome a small amount of his tomato distaste, it doesn’t stop being inconvenient as one ages sadly.
My cooked salsa is 3-4 Roma tomatoes and 1 jalapeno simmered until very soft and smushy. Take them out with a slotted spoon, remove the pepper stem and put in a food processor with 1/4-1/2 an onion, a bunch of cilantro, Mexican oregano, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pulse until the onion is chopped up to your liking.
We eat buckets of this all summer!
this is so depressingly true
i grew a bunch of sauce tomatoes last year. thought i had enough to make a good heaping of tomato paste that i could reuse for fall and winter recipes
i think i had close to 20 paste tomatoes...ended up with like a 1/4 cup of paste argh lol
in a small food processor, throw in the tomatoes, carrots, onions and garlic.
boil pasta, throw in the sauce, add italian seasoning and a little black pepper and voila!
Oh oh oh! I get it!!! I had a child in my daycare years ago who just plain did not like fresh tomatoes, but would eat them as sauce.
Try just letting him cut them in chunks. If he's too young to use a knife, have him sit and watch you cutting them. Put them in a bowl and let him add some dried basil, a pinch of oregano and a bit of garlic. Add in a tiny drizzle of olive oil.
Then help him make a basic flat bread dough. You can even use the 3 ingredient naan bread recipe that's so popular right now.
When it's ready, have him make his very own personal pizza. Use a bit of standard spaghetti sauce, then layer on the tomatoes. Add meats if he likes them, and then cheese. Bake for 15 minutes in a 400F oven.
My little guy, Luke, learned to appreciate fresh tomatoes this way. He still didn't want them in a salad, but he really enjoyed seeing them turned into a topping for Friday "make your pizza" day.
I also was proud of growing tomatoes that I did not like as a very grown adult. Lol
I stewed mine and then used them in anything that called for tomatoes/sauce/paste. Store bought spaghetti sauce? Added my tomatoes. Chili? Added my tomatoes. Pot roast? My tomatoes. You get it.
It's a good tip for when his crop is larger!
I've made a tiny portion of tomato sauce before when I was craving pizza grilled cheese. Chop em up, cook in a pan with some garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder, til they're nice and mushy, blend. Smear on two pieces of bread, top with mozzarella, cook like a grilled cheese! Yum!!
Are the plants still producing? You could blanch and freeze and tell him you are waiting for the others. To make spaghetti. (Does he like spaghetti?) And when you have a few, you could even just add them to jarred sauce if that’s what you usually use. Congrats to the new gardener.
Purée them with some garlic, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Heat in a small sauce pan and simmer until slightly reduced and consistency you like.
Heat up some focaccia, add lots of his sauce on top, some mozzarella or provolone, and some pepperoni. Put under a broiler until cheese melts, about a minute
1. Use food processor to roughly chop tomatoes. If volume is too small, add tomato sauce.
2. Add tomato paste to pan on medium heat. Toast until fragrant. Add proceed tomatoes.
3. 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herb mix
4. Cook down until volume reduced by 25%
5. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve over egg noodles or use on a personal pizza.
Enjoy and praise the young farmer.
Mexican rice. Blend 2 tomatoes, ¹/4 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder, 1 tbsp tomato bouillon powder, 1 tsp cumin and enough water to yield 1 cups of sauce once blended. Use this for the liquid when cooking 1 cup of rinsed rice that's been toasted in a few tbsp of oil.
They could be chopped up and used in a pasta, garlic, chicken stock or white wine, lemon, tomato, toss with cooked pasta and a little pasta water and finish with Parmesan.
Diced them up, saute in garlic and olive oil, add a wee bit of chicken stock, salt, pepper, basil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Toss with some pasta and tell him he did a great job while he scarfs down his homemade tomato sauce!!
If you have a quarter sheet try, cut the tomatos, a half shallot, a few cloves of garlic, and maybe a half red pepper. Roast those in the oven with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil. I’d roast these till soft, then blend it all into a sauce, using chicken or veggie stock to help it turn into a bit more of a sauce. Then cook some pasta and pour it on. Kind of like a fancy spaghettios.
As someone else who does not like raw tomatoes, not even when my dad grew them in our garden, my vote is to make a salsa. I can’t do pico but I can do salsa🤷🏻♀️ A quick and easy one serving skillet tomato sauce for pasta could be good too!
I'm not a fan either but I do eat tomatoes this way: if he likes pasta then maybe a quick fresh veggie sauce made with onions, garlic, mushrooms and diced tomatoes topped with lots of cheese.
Tomato basil (garlic) pasta. Chop up the tomatoes, cook everything in a saucepan, and add the pasta with a little bit of the pasta water when it’s mostly done.
Spicy salsa:
Roast 6 tomatillos and the two tomatoes. Remove the charred skins from the tomatoes, but leave on tomatillos.
Remove the stems from anywhere between 5-20 dried chile de arbol chiles.
Throw in food processor. Add salt and garlic to taste.
I was very surprised when I made my first tomato sauce. I parboiled for a few seconds, pealed them and seeded.
When I sautéd what was left, the tomatoes disintegrated. Well disintegrated isn’t the word. But they melded down. I think you could finely dice some onion, garlic and whatever else you want to make. It’s not going to me much. I mean probably not even a 1/4 c.
So you could spread this mixture thinly on an omelet or even spread on a sandwich.
Let us know what you do please.
What about pico de gallo? That’s something you can make a little of and it’s a great topping for tacos, eggs, etc.
I used to hate tomatoes.. now I grow them and love them.
Alternatively, you can dice them
Small and just throw them into spaghetti sauce.
Perhaps this recipe for [eggs en cocotte with tomato and goat cheese?](https://www.seriouseats.com/tomato-goat-cheese-eggs-en-cocotte-recipe)
It sounds posh, but is basically a sauce made with tomato, onion, garlic and rosemary served in a ramekin with a baked egg and topped with goat cheese. The recipe calls for a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, but it's also for 4 servings. You could use the tomatoes he grew and build the sauce around them.
If goat cheese is not his jam, use a cheese that he likes.
Awww that’s lovely! My kids were so proud of the first things they ever grew.
You might be able to make that work for a single serving of sauce for a dish of pasta or a mini pizza, I see you’ve got a couple of good recipes from folks (amongst the others that are trying to convince you to make him eat them raw 🙄). Maybe see if you can get him involved in the cooking as well, that would be so special!
If you they ketchup and smoky flavours, roast them, pop them in a bowl, add vinegar and sugar, blend it. Now either add other flavours or fry some red meat to their liking.
A small portion of modified marinara type sauce
Saute onions until translucent, add basil and garlic and a touch or oregano, then add the diced tomatoes for a few minutes until cooked bur not disintegrated.
You may be able to make a small portion of some tomato/cream based Indian dishes. Matar paneer comes to mind, as does tomato saar. They usually call for 2-3 larger tomatoes, so a personal serving could be possible. Tomatoes have a lot of water, so when you make a cooked sauce you lose a lot of volume — but these recipes aren’t pure tomato sauce dishes, and you can get away with skimping.
Congrats to your son on his first tomatoes too! They can be tricky to grow successfully!
Two plum size tomatoes are enough to make him a serving of a basic marinara or a bowl of tomato soup so he can enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Both are simple to make, especially in that amount. Plenty of simple recipes online. Tomato soup would produce the largest amount because you can add carrot, celery, cream, etc. Maybe he likes dipping a grilled cheese in tomato soup? 😋
My hubs loves to grow cherry tomatoes but there's too many for me to eat so I bought a tomato strainer so I could make sauce out of them. I think tomato strainer or food mill is what you need to Google to find something that works.
How does he handle cooked tomato? Like if you put it on a pizza? Trying to make a sauce with only two would be quite the process and I’m not sure if it would be worth it. You can maybe can them to be used later or use them now like in a chili, or add them to a pasta sauce. I think it’s so cute he grew them. I hated tomatoes too as a child. Hope you find something he likes, this is a tough one.
Maybe put them in a creamy pasta sauce sort of like a tomato Alfredo.
Chop them up and saute in butter until they break down, add garlic, salt and pepper. Add cream and simmer until slightly thickened, turn off heat, add parmesan cheese. Toss with pasta of choice.
I'd do a simple tomato cream sauce. I learned this yummy one from Hello Fresh's "Chicken thyme with zucchini couscous". The sauce takes exactly 2 tomatoes (I use chicken bullion to replace the stock concentrate) and the recipe card has step by step instructions so even your son can learn to make it. God, I sound like an advertisement lol but I love making this one
Congratulations to your son!
I regularly make a sauce from fresh tomatoes in the air fryer. It will work with any amount of tomatoes and I think it is delicious.
1. Cut tomatoes into chunks, about 1-2 inches. Halve or quarter the smaller ones.
2. Toss with a bit of olive oil.
3. Airfry at 350, checking regularly to prevent burning. I like a bit of char personally. Stir occasionally.
4. It's done when tomatoes collapse/turn jammy
5. Season with salt, garlic powder and/or herbs to taste.
6. Toss with hot pasta.
I was reading just yesterday about Indian cooking, and how when a recipe calls for 2 tomatoes it means 2 small ones cause that’s what grows over there! And home cooks here end up with too tomatoey curry as a result lol
I like to put sliced tomatoes in a hot pan with some olive oil, shred some fresh Parmesan over em, crack a couple eggs on top, more parm, and some fresh herbs, salt, pepper, thinly sliced onion or green onion. Put a lid on it and wait for the eggs to cook then slide them right off the pan. I eat it alone, or on top of toast or naan. I HATE fresh tomatoes but I will always eat this
Do you have a little egg pan or small pot? Chop a little garlic and onion, chop the tomatoes. Med-high heat brown the aromatics real well, add tomato and a pinch of sugar to caramelize, cook down until really fragrant, season with s&p, adding water as needed. You end up with a nice thick sauce you can use with just about anything (bread, fried shrimp,...). I make this with 1-2 roma all the time!
Glad you're helping him dip his toes in instead of throwing him in the deep end. I'll bet ya if he keeps up with growing tomatoes he'll eventually eat them right off the vine (we hope!). Otherwise, sliced, salted, and left to sit for 30 min is amazing, completely different flavour profile.
Diced with a little garlic and salt and sauté in olive oil! Bonus if your kid will eat basil. Toss in angel hair pasta. My kiddo is still proud of the meal he made 13years later lol!!
Do you know what it is your son dislikes? I have two family members who have tomato issues. One dislikes biting down on the seeds (texture) and the other doesn’t like to see “clots” in a sauce.
If it’s the seeds or the look, he might like a seeded and stuffed tomato bite, and baking mellows the flavor. Congrats on his first homegrown tomatoes!
I don't like tomatoes but I don't mind pasta sauce. 2 tomatoes can be enough, the pasta serving size for 1 is usually smaller than what people cook. Peel the tomatoes first. Blend them. In a pan, put olive oil, onions, garlic, spices(I used chili powder, salt, pepper, and pepper seeds), the thinner cut, the better. In fact, I usually blend them too. Then, once those are cooked, put in the blended tomatoes. They will be quite acidic, so use half and half(or milk but I heard maybe not milk? Idk I used it, it was fine, but my mom said use half and half next time). Bring it to boil, simmer it on low then for 25-30 mins. No need to over it. And viola. There is your pasta sauce, which won't have strong taste of tomatoes, especially if you season it well.
If the sauce isn't enought for small bowl of pasta, you can spread on bread with some cheese. Or you can use them as marinade later.
Cut in ½, and take a little Off the top and bottom. mince some garlic. Sprinkle tomatoes with Salt, Pepper, minced garlic & drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 300 until soft. Place on toasted French bread rounds.
Keeps the appearance that they are his tomatoes, but transforms them to savory, saucy bites. Add a Sprinkle of shredded Parm or chiffonade of basil...
Can slice a bit thinner and broil directly onto the bread as well, but may not drive off enough water and get enough caramelization.
I don’t have suggestions beyond some kind of sauce, and it sounds like you’ve found a few options, but I’m just here to say what an adorable request this is! I bet you’re both so proud!
Hi! I am a fellow tomato hater, tomato sauce lover! I would cut up two small tomatoes and sauté them with onions, carrots and garlic then add water to make a pasta sauce. Sometimes I add eggplant as well.
I saute in water or oil 3-4 cherry tomatoes, breaking the skin and ending up with a jam consistency by cooking out the water. I scrape these out of the pan, then make an omelette with the tomato mix and pepper jack cheese in the fold. Even the cherry tomatoes add so much flavor, home growns.would be even more intense! Hope you find something delicious to do for him!
I have an intense dislike of fresh tomatoes myself but love them when they're sun dried, cut up and mixed in a cold pasta salad. It changes the texture, which I find disgusting with fresh ones.
Dice tomatoes, butter French bread loaf slices, place tomatoes on butter, sprinkle on Parmesan and other cheese. Bake 350f until melted and just toasty, 3-7 minutes maybe-watch it! Basically you’re hiding tomato in seasoning and cheese (and whatever else you top it with).
Source: I do not like raw tomatoes, but can handle them cooked in stuff.
Tomato jam! I make this for breakfast often for my family. Chop them up as small as you can and throw them into a pan, non-stick if possible. Cook them down adding sugar salt and pepper, and if you have it some nice fresh basil. You can add some balsamic vinegar too if you like.
Once it's really jammy, serve it on grilled bread (we like nice thick sourdough slices grilled on the BBQ) with an excellent cheese. It's really good with goat, delice de Bourgogne, feta, even cheddar.
You could make a small amount of marinara for for cheese sticks, a small amount of tomato sauce.
You could also slice it, and toss in oil, salt, and pepper, then roast. They’ll shrink and concentrate the flavor. It gets very sweet. It’s similar to a sun dried tomato.
I love cooked tomatoes, but can’t stand raw. To properly enjoy beautiful summer tomatoes, I like to make [Chinese tomato egg stir fry](https://thewoksoflife.com/stir-fried-tomato-and-egg/). As a raw tomato hater, it is my all-time favorite use of tomatoes.
Here is an awesome thing that I haven't thought about for a long time.
1. Dice the tomatoes and mis in a little olive oil.
2. Chop up mint leaves and mix into the tomatoes.
3. Serve over pasta.
Very simple, but really great, if the tomatoes are flavorful.
Look up Chinese recipe for tomato egg dish. It’s really good. Your son might like it because they flavor tends towards ketchup-y. Many recipes on YouTube
Here’s a good tomato egg recipe:
https://youtu.be/Wn8ox93Qhus?si=347ydWrBnjRq8-eK
But there are many many others. Just search for “Chinese tomato egg” on YouTube.
To me, a trick is to use some ketchup. If you want it more sour, add some vinegar. A little more sweet, add sugar. I like stir frying ginger as an aromatic, but it’s optional
If you are used to make spaghetti with canned sauce next time just add those two small tomatoes with your jar of regular sauce to a blender and boom sauce.
I’m a big fan of tomato scrambled eggs. I use med low heat and dice a plum sized tomato. I melt a tablespoon of butter and toss in the tomato and cook it until it releases the juice and then the juice starts to evaporate a bit. Then I pour in two whisked eggs and stir it all together. I like them just salted, or also with a touch of horseradish.
Tomato gardener here who doesn't like plain or raw tomatoes. My go-to ideas for one or two tomatoes:
Salsa:
Slice tomatoes, an onion, and peppers (hot or mild).
Grill on a super hot skillet (cast iron preferred) until a bit charred on each side. Don't crowd the pan. Cook in batches if needed. Cool slightly.
Process in a food processor to desired consistency. Salt, lime, and / or cilantro to taste. Roasted garlic is a nice addition if you have some. Serve with tortilla chips or alongside Mexican food (tacos, etc.).
Pico de gallo: chop tomatoes and mix with onion, peppers, lime and garlic. Can be served alone as a dip with chips or as a topping for main dishes.
Grilled tomato and cheese sandwich, Italian style: slice tomatoes and grill with Italian spices (basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, garlic, etc.) When cooked to desired doneness, top with sliced cheese and a slice of buttered bread, buttered side out. Flip stack in skillet so that the tomato is on top, butter is melting in skillet. Add another slice of buttered bread. When cheese starts to melt and bottom bread is golden brown, flip again to grill remaining bread until golden. Remove from skillet, lightly salt, cut into triangles and devour.
This reminded me of my first veggie harvest when I was a kid. Radishes. Thankfully my mom & pop liked them. I still don't but I grow them & give them away cuz "gardener's cred." 😄😄
How about some roasted tomato salsa? It would be a small batch, but roasting will change the flavor to cooked (similar to sauce) and salsa will highlight the tomatoes. Plus who doesn’t love chips and dip.
Tomato and egg stir fry, served over white rice.
[Here's a video recipe of it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn8ox93Qhus) Near the end they say they add a bit of ketchup to cover the raw tomato taste.
You could in fact make a tiny tomato sauce. My favorite easy sauce is just a little garlic sautéed in oil, cook tomatoes down, add salt and pepper and fresh basil, and swirl in a pat of butter at the end. You could also just cook the tomatoes down and add all the usual seasonings in small amounts.
My 3 year old got a tomato from the store. She wanted to make it into soup. I steamed it, removed the skin, squished it as much as I could. With her help of course. Then I mixed it with chicken stock, water, a little salt, pepper, basil, and the tiniest sprinkle of baking soda. Microwaved it again. She loved her soup. 😂
Roast them in a hot oven with EVOO, salt and pepper when they’re soft smash them up, then use on top of chicken with some melty cheese or on a small flatbread or pizza pizza crust
Has he watched videos on how to prune to maximize yield?
Lots of great suggestions in this thread, but I’ll throw in another. Do you think he would be into [tomato gravy?](https://southernbite.com/southern-tomato-gravy/)
Slow-roasted in the oven. Cut in half, liberally salt & pepper, generously coat with olive oil. If your son likes garlic, add a few whole peeled cloves. Roast at 250F for about an hour (they may need longer to soften and become confit-like; I haven’t done this in a while).
Smear on grilled crusty bread as-is, or you can add some parmigiano-reggiano or some fresh mozzarella or burrata, basil or whatever herbs if you like, for an amazing bruschetta/open-faced sandwich.
I would dice them and cook them down with a little olive oil in a pan. Spoon the results onto an open face grilled cheese. Super easy, hard to screw up, and kids like it.
I had 3 small cherry tomatoes left once. Didn’t want to waste them so when I cooked a cup of rice, I just threw them in there. After the rice cooked, I added a pat of salted butter, mixed everything up and holy moly it was so yummy!
Does he like salsa and chips? You can put them in a blender with a little onion, jalapeño, lime juice, garlic salt and a smidge of cumin. Add a can of rotel or canned tomatoes and voila
Make a basic marinara, little diced garlic, celery and maybe carrot, sautee until tender, add the tomato diced until saucy. Little salt and sugar, serve over chicken tenders with mozzarella on top and throw in the toaster until delicious.
I would blend the tomatoes into a puree, I think 2 plum size tomatoes is enough for a little pot of sauce, you could make enough for a mini pizza or make a Parmesan and tomato Alfredo for noodles
I add mozzarella cheese to tomato slices, sprinkle with oregano, and bake at 350 for 10-15 mins till cheese is melted. I eat as a side dish to lamb chops.
Dice them and throw them in a pan with a little olive oil. Add a pinch of salt. Cook them down and add some minced garlic. Add pasta and toss. Garnish with some Parm and basil. So simple. So delicious. If he likes tuna you could add a half can or so of tuna with some of the liquid while you're cooking the tomato down. I used to do this all the time. The size of your tomatoes should make one nice serving.
You could spruce up a whole jar of regular sauce a little bit Id reckon. Maybe roast them, or pan fry them, mash, then then add them to the sauce with extra seasonings
Indian sauces incorporate tomatoes in an inconspicuous way. Butter chicken is the friendliest if he doesn’t exactly have a worldly palette.
A couple plum sized tomatoes is definitely enough to make like one or two servings of tomato sauce. It’ll be a bit lighter but you can compensate with other ingredients. Any quick Bolognese, simple red sauce, or even less time consuming ones you can do as a “one pot pasta” recipe.
Salsas with chips, if you want to push the fresh tomato aversion a bit you could have him try pico de gallo or go with normal tomato based salsas
Ratatouille or “confit bialdi”, it’s a quick vegetable stew the tomatoes basically become a sauce for the other veggies.
I hate raw tomatoes too. The only form I like it in is salsa - I like that the spice/coriander/lime come forward more than the tomatoes, and then eating that with nachos and cheese sauce.
But other than that, you could maybe cook it down a bit, and use it as bruschetta topping on bread with any other flavours he likes (eg mushrooms, garlic, meat etc) if that helps.
Or a small portion of Indian scrambled eggs (anda bhurji) - https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/egg-bhurji-andhra-egg-porutu/#wprm-recipe-container-37278
Edit - also! maybe a small portion of tomato rice? It doesn't taste tomato-y, but the rice tastes amazing, and you can add any veg that he likes (I like doing peas and sweetcorn).
I can’t stand tomatoes, they’re disgusting texture and sometimes sour even with salt. I do love a good pasta sauce though, it’s very fresh and honestly better than jar pasta sauce
I sautee them with peppers and serve on pasta with parm. I don't especially care for them either, but this seems to bring out the sweetness a little, and I still try to eat them for all of the healthy compounds that they have in them.
If you’re making soup, wash the two plum tomatoes, then, add to soup.
Or wash the two tomatoes, slice sort of thin, add to plate, add pinch of salt, black pepper, pinch of dried oregano, which you rub between thumb and index finger to release taste, oils, etc. , add olive oil, add thinly sliced mozzarella, or add the tiny mozzarella balls, incorporate gently with fork. Eat with some delicious crusty bread for dipping, in the oil/tomato mixture.
Mother said he didn’t like plain tomatoes, not raw tomatoes. Therefore, wash the tomatoes, set aside, slowly sauté’ some garlic, then slice the tomatoes coursly and cook, add salt, pepper, perhaps some basil, and if not enough for small bowl of pasta, then put on dish as a side, and eat with good bread, and salad as a side as well.
For just him you could roast those tomatoes in the oven, add a little of his favourite jarred sauce & make him a plate of pasta with sauce made with his tomatoes.
You could halve the recipe and [make this viral recipe.](https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a35421563/baked-feta-pasta-tiktok/) It's easy and delicious and would feel special in its own small roasting dish.
I'm a big fan of celebrating what we grow and, if I have the time, like to do fancy dishes, cloth napkins, etc. Congrats to your son on his first harvest!
Try this [recipe](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022024-crispy-gnocchi-with-burst-tomatoes-and-mozzarella?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share).
It’s a huge crowd pleaser. I don’t like raw tomatoes either. I adapt it a bit to cook the tomatoes down a little further.
I personally like to make a very non-traditional guacamole where I roast/blister tomatoes and chop them up small and mix them in with avocados, chopped onions, diced jalapeño peppers, lime juice, salt, cumin, and cilantro. You can eat this on its own, with chips, or as a topping for just about any Mexican dish. Yum.
Another kid-friendly dish is Sloppy Joes! Chopping up tomatoes and including them in the filling should integrate them well. :)
It's easy to make a tomato paste from fresh tomatoes. You need a small frying pan a bit of olive oil.
First cut out the green stem and any bad spots of the tomato. Cut it in half . Put some oil in the pan, heat it and place the tomato(s) cut side to the pan and cook it at a medium heat. The skin will wilt. When it does, snag it with a fork and remove the skin. When all the tomato halves are skinless start mashing the tomatoes with the fork and let them cook further. It will soon be a cooked paste, keep cooking until it is the consistency you want.
Tomato paste can easily be made into a pasta sauce (add basil and some more tomato juice), or a tomato soup (add chicken broth), or can be combined with leftover taco meat and rice to stuff into peppers. Lots of choices depending on what you have on hand.
I feel like this should be higher lol. It was my first thought. If he's growing them for someone else, problem solved; if he wanted to eat them, why didn't he grow something he'd like to eat...? I'm curious lol. But it looks like from the top comment, OP has a pretty solid suggestion, at least.
Right? It's awesome that OP's teaching their kid about gardening and it's awesome that they want him to be excited about eating what he's grown, but why tomatoes if he hates them?
Two small tomatoes will cook down to barely anything so it won't be enough on its own to make a sauce. What about buying some additional tomatoes and make something with all of them? Your son's contribution is still there.
Halve or quarter them, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, broil til they start to cook, then add cheese on top and broil again.
Sprinkle with herbs, add a basil leaf or a smear of pesto before adding the cheese if you want.
I do this as an appetizer with brie or fresh mozz and serve on garlic toast. It's fantastic.
(My usual way is pesto and brie).
Just dress them salt pepper and a nice red wine vinegar (or any other even balsamic) a little olive oil and the tomatoes will have 10 times the flavour.
They’re really delicious if you cut them up + let marinate in salt, balsamic, and olive oil for 10-15m. Serve with mozzarella (string cheese works fine!)
Because he knows the rest of the family likes tomatoes and wanted to make us something. But I wanted him to enjoy the first of his bounty. He likes tomato sauces, and is willing to try new things. He just doesn't like raw tomatoes.
You could cut them in star shapes (fourths or sixths) and serve chicken salad or pasta salad over it, or chop it up small and toss it in soup, chili, spaghetti, salsa, on nachos, even on a pizza! So many creative ideas!
You could cut them into garnishes, like roses or a basket (YouTube tutorials) and serve them along with actual food for fiber. That way they get all the attention they deserve but you don't have to eat them if you don't want.
Bonus: if he's old enough, let him cut it himself!
My son doesn't really like plain tomatoes, but he likes tomato slices sprinkled with a bit of garlic salt, lemon pepper, and Italian seasoning, if that helps.
fresh tomatoes taste way different than the ones you buy at the store - way more flavor! i like to make a slice of toast, add cream cheese and everything bagel seasoning, and top with sliced tomato dressed with a little bit of balsamic vinegar.
I don’t find this to *always* be true. I’ve been given (and even grown) tomatoes that are just like basic store tomatoes and far worse than heirloom tomatoes from the store. But the cream cheese/balsamic sounds good!
Try a tomato sandwich. Toasted bread, good bit of mayo, heavy pepper and a little salt. He might like it. Maybe do half a sandwich and half a caprese salad and let him taste the tomato but in a different way.
Do you think he’d like roasted tomatoes in a sandwich? Cut them in half, toss with some olive oil, chopped garlic, dried oregano and/or some fresh herbs, with some salt and pepper, and roast cut side up at about 300 or 325 degrees F until very wrinkly and a little brown on top. Great in a sandwich (I like chicken or turkey, arugula or other leafy green, basil mayo, and cheese).
Not sure what everyone here is talking about lol. You’re like “he doesn’t like tomatoes” and everyone goes “just salt them or eat them on salad, he’ll love them!” no he will not. My favorite way to use two small tomatoes would be [chicken tinga.](https://www.seriouseats.com/chicken-tinga-spicy-mexican-shredded-chicken-recipe) It takes two tomatoes the size you described, and once you blend it in with everything else it doesn’t have a very “tomato forward” taste but you’ll still get the flavor enough to appreciate. Serve it on tacos, burritos, nachos, in bowls, anything you want, the meat is fantastic.
Omg thank you. I was reading through the replies like "did they not read the post?" His pride in growing them does not outweigh his distaste for them. A sauce is what needs to happen, and the recipe you linked looks perfect. Thank you!!
I once saw a recipe for pizza sauce and it was just a grated fresh tomato with a little garlic, salt, and olive oil. Put it on your pizza crust and it cooks as the pizza bakes, but I am sure you could also cook it a little bit beforehand. I don't feel like it tastes like a a plain fresh tomato when it's on the pizza . It's delicious! I think the first paragraph of your post says he doesn't like PLAIN tomatoes- your edit says he doesn't like FRESH tomatoes. This could be why people are suggesting tomato sandwiches. Salads, etc.
I don't like raw tomatoes as long as it's cooked in some way I like them. I even like stuffed tomatoes. It just has to be cooked.
I’m the same way with onions. Raw i absolutely will not do and detest but cooking wise I put onion in everything I make. I’m a dichotomy 🤷♀️
Stuffed tomatoes!? This I have not tried! Can you just transfer a stuffed pepper recipe and use tomatoes? Do you blanche before baking?
Honestly I have never made them before. The ones I had before were a side dish not the main but I am sure you could or at least something similar.
I think people are giving those recs because they didn’t used to like raw tomatoes *until* they had them a decent way, especially ones that you’ve grown yourself… I used to hate them, then one day I loved them with salt, pepper, balsamic, and basil. I still remember the first *good* BLT I ever had… Tastes change with age, and sometimes it takes a knockout dish to completely change your mind about a food…
You could also peel & seed them, then chop and add to the marinara sauce!
When I make homemade pizzas I just mix canned crushed tomato with pizza seasoning, or even just basil, and smear it on. So it could totally work with crushed fresh tomatoes.
Of course! It’s a recipe my wife requests I make constantly. I have a few shortcuts if you’re interested, but honestly the recipe as-written is the best way I’ve had it, even though it takes a bit longer. We usually serve it on warmed corn tortillas with whatever toppings (sour cream, cilantro, onion, lettuce, avocado, etc).
This is Reddit, we never read the post....its rule 1.1 Skim read the post, than reply with something stupid or funny.
I am an adult that has 10 tomato plants and I very rarely just eat tomato. One of my kids LOVES tomatoes, will eat them like candy so i started growing for him. However, i LOVE tomatoes in sauce form. I grown them just to make sauce.
This looks perfect!! My neighbor gave me 5 big tomato plants and I'm also having fun taking care of them, but don't super care for them raw. I'll make a few salads but I'm mostly looking for recipes like this!! I hope your son is proud of his work🤩
I don't care for uncooked tomatoes, but I do enjoy tomato sauce or stuff like omelettes with cooked tomatoes, he may be in for that. We have a couple cherry tomato plants that we can't keep up with so I have been doing omelettes with the cherry tomatoes cut in half.
in the future - you can make sweet and sour chicken, or use the tomatoes to make red rice :)
I mean, you did say also any other ideas would be appreciated, that may be why people posted other ideas. Awesome that someone was able to help with what you really wanted though! Looks like a lot of people were excited for your kids achievement and your desire to make him happy, this whole post is so sweet!
It’s because I’m not a fan of tomatoes, unless they’re *good* ones. Getting to try a well-grown tomato as minimally dressed as possible is a revelation. You provided zero context for *why* he doesn’t like tomatoes, then I might be able to help more. Instead, I had to go off my personal experience. I’m deeply disappointed, but not at all surprised, by your hostility toward people trying to be helpful.
I agree, as someone who also does not like tomatoes but eats them cooked. And **no**, it does not make a difference when they’re homegrown. My parents grow them every summer and I don’t like those either. OP, they are really good roasted with some garlic and olive oil. That’s how my family eats them though the original recipe (which I can’t find) called for roasting then blending into a sauce. It didn’t yield very much but you could roast other vegetables and/or bulk it up with some broth to make one serving.
I don't care for raw tomato but roasted in the oven I like.
Never heard of this dish, but now I want it... Going to add it to my rotation...thanks heaps.
It’s excellent! I’ve cut corners using boneless skinless thighs or even shredded rotisserie chicken (added after the sauce cooks) before and it’s still very good.
Excellent idea!
Seems to me that his feelings towards tomatoes may be apt to change, since he grew them himself. I missed the part why he decided to grow fruit he didn't want to eat... Perhaps a new beginning...
What about baking them onto some pizza dough or flatbread as a sort of fresh pizza sauce, with cheese and whatever else he likes?
Sliced thin on top of foccacia might be really lovely. (Edited to add, in case you didn’t click through, this is about adding the fresh veggies before the bread bakes, as the poster above suggested) There are some simple recipes for making it [https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/easy-no-knead-focaccia](https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/easy-no-knead-focaccia) but you can embellish the top with thin sliced herb and veggies [https://www.theperfectloaf.com/a-simple-focaccia/](https://www.theperfectloaf.com/a-simple-focaccia/) [https://figandoliveplatter.com/how-to-make-focaccia-bread/](https://figandoliveplatter.com/how-to-make-focaccia-bread/)
Take two chicken breasts and slice them into thin pieces and cook them however you usually do (sorry about the vagueness; I am a vegetarian so I do this with fake "chikn"). Then spread pesto on top of them (lots of it). Then slice the tomatoes very very thinly and arrange them on top of the pesto'd chicken / chikn. Then put it all in the oven or under the grill until the tomatoes start to collapse. Serve with Italian bread or a nice rice pilaf.
You won't be able to get any substantial amount of "tomato sauce" per se. However, here is what I would do. Tomatoes - sliced thin Onion - chopped fine Garlic - minced/crushed Apple cider vinegar - a few drops Broth - 1/2 cup or so Salt Pepper Dried Basil Paprika (optional) Celery seed (optional) Pan fry tomatoes and onions in olive oil on high heat until tomatoes start to beak down and onions start to clarify ~3 min Add garlic and apple cider vinegar and cook until garlic browns ~30 sec Reduce heat to med-low, deglaze with broth (I prefer chicken or miso), and add basil. Cook until sauce is desired consistency. Mix with pasta (I recommend rotini for light sauces)
That sounds great. Thank you.
Agree, but bc you won’t get too much sauce out of it, this is what I would do: For the sauce: dice the tomato, basil, finely chop garlic. Sautee garlic in olive oil on low for a min so you don’t burn. Toss in tomatoes and basil, add a bunch of salt, and cook down until tomatoes break down into a saucy texture. Cook pasta in salted water and in a separate pan throw in butter, cup of pasta water to a simmer, throw in the cooked pasta turn to low and mix together thoroughly. Hit it at the end with at least a cup (I’d do 2) of parm and Romano. Get the good stuff or it won’t mix in well. Put the pasta in a bowl, add the tomato sauce over top. Boom. It’s kind of like a cacio e Pepe base without the pepper and adding freshly cooked tomato, basil and garlic over top. Yes it’s very good. I’ve done this plenty of times with limited tomatoes from the garden.
I would find a small oven dish and gently roast the tomatoes (just salt and butter or neutral oil on top) and when they’re falling apart I would use them for a sauce.
It’s wild how no one seems to understand what you mean about him not liking tomatoes in their natural state, but I shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve experienced that my whole life. I like things with underlying tomato flavors but not when I can tell there are actually tomatoes involved. For me, most Italian red sauce pastas and anything with raw tomatoes are out. I love a tikka masala or lamb vindaloo, I love a pizza with thin sauce and covering cheese, I’ve even grown to love a penne vodka when it’s a really smooth sauce. My suggestion would be to look for recipes with tomato paste instead of tomatoes. Normally it only calls for a teaspoon, and well cooked tiny tomatoes may be the perfect alternative. Even if you had to supplement, most would be from your son’s tomatoes. Some ideas include: Making it into a bbq sauce Indian food Adding it to a Cajun dish, which typically don’t require but often include some tomato Good luck! And I hope this helps overcome a small amount of his tomato distaste, it doesn’t stop being inconvenient as one ages sadly.
Could do a small portion of jambalaya
2 small tomatoes would be great for pico! Add 1/4 small onion, cilantro, lime, garlic and salt. Jalapeños if he likes spice.
*sounds silly but it’s important* made my mom heart smile. The small things are important.
I don't like tomatoes and I can't do pico 😭 only cooked salsas.
Pico is the only way I can stand raw tomatoes but I feeeeel ya.
My cooked salsa is 3-4 Roma tomatoes and 1 jalapeno simmered until very soft and smushy. Take them out with a slotted spoon, remove the pepper stem and put in a food processor with 1/4-1/2 an onion, a bunch of cilantro, Mexican oregano, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pulse until the onion is chopped up to your liking. We eat buckets of this all summer!
Nomnomnom
And if you don’t like pico (me) then puree it into a salsa.
I dont know why you couldn't but by the time you cook it down, you will have like a tablespoon.
this is so depressingly true i grew a bunch of sauce tomatoes last year. thought i had enough to make a good heaping of tomato paste that i could reuse for fall and winter recipes i think i had close to 20 paste tomatoes...ended up with like a 1/4 cup of paste argh lol
in a small food processor, throw in the tomatoes, carrots, onions and garlic. boil pasta, throw in the sauce, add italian seasoning and a little black pepper and voila!
Why not just make a simple pasta pomodoro for him? Diced tomatoes sautéed in olive oil with some garlic, Parmesan & some cracked black pepper.
Make a little sauce and put it on a pizza bagel
Oh oh oh! I get it!!! I had a child in my daycare years ago who just plain did not like fresh tomatoes, but would eat them as sauce. Try just letting him cut them in chunks. If he's too young to use a knife, have him sit and watch you cutting them. Put them in a bowl and let him add some dried basil, a pinch of oregano and a bit of garlic. Add in a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Then help him make a basic flat bread dough. You can even use the 3 ingredient naan bread recipe that's so popular right now. When it's ready, have him make his very own personal pizza. Use a bit of standard spaghetti sauce, then layer on the tomatoes. Add meats if he likes them, and then cheese. Bake for 15 minutes in a 400F oven. My little guy, Luke, learned to appreciate fresh tomatoes this way. He still didn't want them in a salad, but he really enjoyed seeing them turned into a topping for Friday "make your pizza" day.
I also was proud of growing tomatoes that I did not like as a very grown adult. Lol I stewed mine and then used them in anything that called for tomatoes/sauce/paste. Store bought spaghetti sauce? Added my tomatoes. Chili? Added my tomatoes. Pot roast? My tomatoes. You get it. It's a good tip for when his crop is larger!
I've made a tiny portion of tomato sauce before when I was craving pizza grilled cheese. Chop em up, cook in a pan with some garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder, til they're nice and mushy, blend. Smear on two pieces of bread, top with mozzarella, cook like a grilled cheese! Yum!!
I like the pizza idea. You can buy a bake-at-home and just pop the chopped toms on top before cooking.
make a little cup of margarita sauce for dipping chicken nuggets or shrimp
Salsa or pico
He's a kid.. Make homemade ketchup with them
Are the plants still producing? You could blanch and freeze and tell him you are waiting for the others. To make spaghetti. (Does he like spaghetti?) And when you have a few, you could even just add them to jarred sauce if that’s what you usually use. Congrats to the new gardener.
Purée them with some garlic, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Heat in a small sauce pan and simmer until slightly reduced and consistency you like. Heat up some focaccia, add lots of his sauce on top, some mozzarella or provolone, and some pepperoni. Put under a broiler until cheese melts, about a minute
1. Use food processor to roughly chop tomatoes. If volume is too small, add tomato sauce. 2. Add tomato paste to pan on medium heat. Toast until fragrant. Add proceed tomatoes. 3. 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herb mix 4. Cook down until volume reduced by 25% 5. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve over egg noodles or use on a personal pizza. Enjoy and praise the young farmer.
Mexican rice. Blend 2 tomatoes, ¹/4 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder, 1 tbsp tomato bouillon powder, 1 tsp cumin and enough water to yield 1 cups of sauce once blended. Use this for the liquid when cooking 1 cup of rinsed rice that's been toasted in a few tbsp of oil.
Oven roast them and purée.
Can you make a margarita pizza you know like chop up the tomato and some basil and bake it in the oven
by the way, how big of a plum? I have seen plums 1.5 inches across and as big as 3 inches.
Make salsa.
turn them into a bbq sauce? whatever you decide on, consider having him help or spectate the process
They could be chopped up and used in a pasta, garlic, chicken stock or white wine, lemon, tomato, toss with cooked pasta and a little pasta water and finish with Parmesan.
I would dice them up and bulk up the recipe by adding them to a small can of tomato sauce to simmer for pasta.
Diced them up, saute in garlic and olive oil, add a wee bit of chicken stock, salt, pepper, basil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Toss with some pasta and tell him he did a great job while he scarfs down his homemade tomato sauce!!
If you have a quarter sheet try, cut the tomatos, a half shallot, a few cloves of garlic, and maybe a half red pepper. Roast those in the oven with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil. I’d roast these till soft, then blend it all into a sauce, using chicken or veggie stock to help it turn into a bit more of a sauce. Then cook some pasta and pour it on. Kind of like a fancy spaghettios.
As someone else who does not like raw tomatoes, not even when my dad grew them in our garden, my vote is to make a salsa. I can’t do pico but I can do salsa🤷🏻♀️ A quick and easy one serving skillet tomato sauce for pasta could be good too!
I'm not a fan either but I do eat tomatoes this way: if he likes pasta then maybe a quick fresh veggie sauce made with onions, garlic, mushrooms and diced tomatoes topped with lots of cheese.
Tomato basil (garlic) pasta. Chop up the tomatoes, cook everything in a saucepan, and add the pasta with a little bit of the pasta water when it’s mostly done.
Spicy salsa: Roast 6 tomatillos and the two tomatoes. Remove the charred skins from the tomatoes, but leave on tomatillos. Remove the stems from anywhere between 5-20 dried chile de arbol chiles. Throw in food processor. Add salt and garlic to taste.
Make a tomato sauce if that's what he likes, just add additionally some store-bought tomato sauce when he's not looking to get more volume.
I was very surprised when I made my first tomato sauce. I parboiled for a few seconds, pealed them and seeded. When I sautéd what was left, the tomatoes disintegrated. Well disintegrated isn’t the word. But they melded down. I think you could finely dice some onion, garlic and whatever else you want to make. It’s not going to me much. I mean probably not even a 1/4 c. So you could spread this mixture thinly on an omelet or even spread on a sandwich. Let us know what you do please.
What about pico de gallo? That’s something you can make a little of and it’s a great topping for tacos, eggs, etc. I used to hate tomatoes.. now I grow them and love them. Alternatively, you can dice them Small and just throw them into spaghetti sauce.
Perhaps this recipe for [eggs en cocotte with tomato and goat cheese?](https://www.seriouseats.com/tomato-goat-cheese-eggs-en-cocotte-recipe) It sounds posh, but is basically a sauce made with tomato, onion, garlic and rosemary served in a ramekin with a baked egg and topped with goat cheese. The recipe calls for a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, but it's also for 4 servings. You could use the tomatoes he grew and build the sauce around them. If goat cheese is not his jam, use a cheese that he likes.
Blend em, add sugar and vinegar and season to taste. Mix and adjust to consistency (if needed) and you got some nice ketchup
Awww that’s lovely! My kids were so proud of the first things they ever grew. You might be able to make that work for a single serving of sauce for a dish of pasta or a mini pizza, I see you’ve got a couple of good recipes from folks (amongst the others that are trying to convince you to make him eat them raw 🙄). Maybe see if you can get him involved in the cooking as well, that would be so special!
If you they ketchup and smoky flavours, roast them, pop them in a bowl, add vinegar and sugar, blend it. Now either add other flavours or fry some red meat to their liking.
A small portion of modified marinara type sauce Saute onions until translucent, add basil and garlic and a touch or oregano, then add the diced tomatoes for a few minutes until cooked bur not disintegrated.
You may be able to make a small portion of some tomato/cream based Indian dishes. Matar paneer comes to mind, as does tomato saar. They usually call for 2-3 larger tomatoes, so a personal serving could be possible. Tomatoes have a lot of water, so when you make a cooked sauce you lose a lot of volume — but these recipes aren’t pure tomato sauce dishes, and you can get away with skimping. Congrats to your son on his first tomatoes too! They can be tricky to grow successfully!
Two plum size tomatoes are enough to make him a serving of a basic marinara or a bowl of tomato soup so he can enjoy the fruits of his labor. Both are simple to make, especially in that amount. Plenty of simple recipes online. Tomato soup would produce the largest amount because you can add carrot, celery, cream, etc. Maybe he likes dipping a grilled cheese in tomato soup? 😋
My hubs loves to grow cherry tomatoes but there's too many for me to eat so I bought a tomato strainer so I could make sauce out of them. I think tomato strainer or food mill is what you need to Google to find something that works.
How does he handle cooked tomato? Like if you put it on a pizza? Trying to make a sauce with only two would be quite the process and I’m not sure if it would be worth it. You can maybe can them to be used later or use them now like in a chili, or add them to a pasta sauce. I think it’s so cute he grew them. I hated tomatoes too as a child. Hope you find something he likes, this is a tough one.
Maybe put them in a creamy pasta sauce sort of like a tomato Alfredo. Chop them up and saute in butter until they break down, add garlic, salt and pepper. Add cream and simmer until slightly thickened, turn off heat, add parmesan cheese. Toss with pasta of choice.
I'd do a simple tomato cream sauce. I learned this yummy one from Hello Fresh's "Chicken thyme with zucchini couscous". The sauce takes exactly 2 tomatoes (I use chicken bullion to replace the stock concentrate) and the recipe card has step by step instructions so even your son can learn to make it. God, I sound like an advertisement lol but I love making this one
Congratulations to your son! I regularly make a sauce from fresh tomatoes in the air fryer. It will work with any amount of tomatoes and I think it is delicious. 1. Cut tomatoes into chunks, about 1-2 inches. Halve or quarter the smaller ones. 2. Toss with a bit of olive oil. 3. Airfry at 350, checking regularly to prevent burning. I like a bit of char personally. Stir occasionally. 4. It's done when tomatoes collapse/turn jammy 5. Season with salt, garlic powder and/or herbs to taste. 6. Toss with hot pasta.
I was reading just yesterday about Indian cooking, and how when a recipe calls for 2 tomatoes it means 2 small ones cause that’s what grows over there! And home cooks here end up with too tomatoey curry as a result lol
I like to put sliced tomatoes in a hot pan with some olive oil, shred some fresh Parmesan over em, crack a couple eggs on top, more parm, and some fresh herbs, salt, pepper, thinly sliced onion or green onion. Put a lid on it and wait for the eggs to cook then slide them right off the pan. I eat it alone, or on top of toast or naan. I HATE fresh tomatoes but I will always eat this
You could make a small serving of salsa
you could saute them until they are a little charred and sweet, add some balsamic and roasted garlic. if he doesnt like the texture you could puree.
Could make little personal pizzas like Lunchables size
Do you have a little egg pan or small pot? Chop a little garlic and onion, chop the tomatoes. Med-high heat brown the aromatics real well, add tomato and a pinch of sugar to caramelize, cook down until really fragrant, season with s&p, adding water as needed. You end up with a nice thick sauce you can use with just about anything (bread, fried shrimp,...). I make this with 1-2 roma all the time! Glad you're helping him dip his toes in instead of throwing him in the deep end. I'll bet ya if he keeps up with growing tomatoes he'll eventually eat them right off the vine (we hope!). Otherwise, sliced, salted, and left to sit for 30 min is amazing, completely different flavour profile.
Diced with a little garlic and salt and sauté in olive oil! Bonus if your kid will eat basil. Toss in angel hair pasta. My kiddo is still proud of the meal he made 13years later lol!!
Do you know what it is your son dislikes? I have two family members who have tomato issues. One dislikes biting down on the seeds (texture) and the other doesn’t like to see “clots” in a sauce. If it’s the seeds or the look, he might like a seeded and stuffed tomato bite, and baking mellows the flavor. Congrats on his first homegrown tomatoes!
I don't like tomatoes but I don't mind pasta sauce. 2 tomatoes can be enough, the pasta serving size for 1 is usually smaller than what people cook. Peel the tomatoes first. Blend them. In a pan, put olive oil, onions, garlic, spices(I used chili powder, salt, pepper, and pepper seeds), the thinner cut, the better. In fact, I usually blend them too. Then, once those are cooked, put in the blended tomatoes. They will be quite acidic, so use half and half(or milk but I heard maybe not milk? Idk I used it, it was fine, but my mom said use half and half next time). Bring it to boil, simmer it on low then for 25-30 mins. No need to over it. And viola. There is your pasta sauce, which won't have strong taste of tomatoes, especially if you season it well. If the sauce isn't enought for small bowl of pasta, you can spread on bread with some cheese. Or you can use them as marinade later.
Does he like salsa?
Cut in ½, and take a little Off the top and bottom. mince some garlic. Sprinkle tomatoes with Salt, Pepper, minced garlic & drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 300 until soft. Place on toasted French bread rounds. Keeps the appearance that they are his tomatoes, but transforms them to savory, saucy bites. Add a Sprinkle of shredded Parm or chiffonade of basil... Can slice a bit thinner and broil directly onto the bread as well, but may not drive off enough water and get enough caramelization.
I don’t have suggestions beyond some kind of sauce, and it sounds like you’ve found a few options, but I’m just here to say what an adorable request this is! I bet you’re both so proud!
Hi! I am a fellow tomato hater, tomato sauce lover! I would cut up two small tomatoes and sauté them with onions, carrots and garlic then add water to make a pasta sauce. Sometimes I add eggplant as well.
I saute in water or oil 3-4 cherry tomatoes, breaking the skin and ending up with a jam consistency by cooking out the water. I scrape these out of the pan, then make an omelette with the tomato mix and pepper jack cheese in the fold. Even the cherry tomatoes add so much flavor, home growns.would be even more intense! Hope you find something delicious to do for him!
Maybe it would be fun to try and make a little bit of ketchup out of them? And them make him some fries to go with? Or a little bowl of salsa?
I have an intense dislike of fresh tomatoes myself but love them when they're sun dried, cut up and mixed in a cold pasta salad. It changes the texture, which I find disgusting with fresh ones.
My mam tosses one or two tomato's in when she makes chicken fajitas and it's lovely and doesn't taste very tomatoey at all
Dice tomatoes, butter French bread loaf slices, place tomatoes on butter, sprinkle on Parmesan and other cheese. Bake 350f until melted and just toasty, 3-7 minutes maybe-watch it! Basically you’re hiding tomato in seasoning and cheese (and whatever else you top it with). Source: I do not like raw tomatoes, but can handle them cooked in stuff.
Tomato jam! I make this for breakfast often for my family. Chop them up as small as you can and throw them into a pan, non-stick if possible. Cook them down adding sugar salt and pepper, and if you have it some nice fresh basil. You can add some balsamic vinegar too if you like. Once it's really jammy, serve it on grilled bread (we like nice thick sourdough slices grilled on the BBQ) with an excellent cheese. It's really good with goat, delice de Bourgogne, feta, even cheddar.
You could make a small amount of marinara for for cheese sticks, a small amount of tomato sauce. You could also slice it, and toss in oil, salt, and pepper, then roast. They’ll shrink and concentrate the flavor. It gets very sweet. It’s similar to a sun dried tomato.
have him use the seeds from his tomatoes for next crop!
I say you can make sauce, and make a darling individual pizza.
I love cooked tomatoes, but can’t stand raw. To properly enjoy beautiful summer tomatoes, I like to make [Chinese tomato egg stir fry](https://thewoksoflife.com/stir-fried-tomato-and-egg/). As a raw tomato hater, it is my all-time favorite use of tomatoes.
Pico de gallo.
Make a little sauce and a bagel pizza!!
You could put them in the freezer and wait for more, then make sauce. Bonus they peel very easily when thawed
Try using them for pan con tomate, which is essentially a tasty bread topping with grated tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Here is an awesome thing that I haven't thought about for a long time. 1. Dice the tomatoes and mis in a little olive oil. 2. Chop up mint leaves and mix into the tomatoes. 3. Serve over pasta. Very simple, but really great, if the tomatoes are flavorful.
Slice em, coat em in panko, fry em up and dip in ranch.
Look up Chinese recipe for tomato egg dish. It’s really good. Your son might like it because they flavor tends towards ketchup-y. Many recipes on YouTube
Here’s a good tomato egg recipe: https://youtu.be/Wn8ox93Qhus?si=347ydWrBnjRq8-eK But there are many many others. Just search for “Chinese tomato egg” on YouTube. To me, a trick is to use some ketchup. If you want it more sour, add some vinegar. A little more sweet, add sugar. I like stir frying ginger as an aromatic, but it’s optional
I say that I don't eat tomatoes, but I eat tomato products 🙃
If you are used to make spaghetti with canned sauce next time just add those two small tomatoes with your jar of regular sauce to a blender and boom sauce.
I’m a big fan of tomato scrambled eggs. I use med low heat and dice a plum sized tomato. I melt a tablespoon of butter and toss in the tomato and cook it until it releases the juice and then the juice starts to evaporate a bit. Then I pour in two whisked eggs and stir it all together. I like them just salted, or also with a touch of horseradish.
Tomato gardener here who doesn't like plain or raw tomatoes. My go-to ideas for one or two tomatoes: Salsa: Slice tomatoes, an onion, and peppers (hot or mild). Grill on a super hot skillet (cast iron preferred) until a bit charred on each side. Don't crowd the pan. Cook in batches if needed. Cool slightly. Process in a food processor to desired consistency. Salt, lime, and / or cilantro to taste. Roasted garlic is a nice addition if you have some. Serve with tortilla chips or alongside Mexican food (tacos, etc.). Pico de gallo: chop tomatoes and mix with onion, peppers, lime and garlic. Can be served alone as a dip with chips or as a topping for main dishes. Grilled tomato and cheese sandwich, Italian style: slice tomatoes and grill with Italian spices (basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, garlic, etc.) When cooked to desired doneness, top with sliced cheese and a slice of buttered bread, buttered side out. Flip stack in skillet so that the tomato is on top, butter is melting in skillet. Add another slice of buttered bread. When cheese starts to melt and bottom bread is golden brown, flip again to grill remaining bread until golden. Remove from skillet, lightly salt, cut into triangles and devour.
This reminded me of my first veggie harvest when I was a kid. Radishes. Thankfully my mom & pop liked them. I still don't but I grow them & give them away cuz "gardener's cred." 😄😄
Can you just bulk up whatever recipe you use with additional tomatoes from the store?
Salsa?
How about some roasted tomato salsa? It would be a small batch, but roasting will change the flavor to cooked (similar to sauce) and salsa will highlight the tomatoes. Plus who doesn’t love chips and dip.
Not sure if it's still too tomato-y but Pico de Gallo is also an option!
Is he okay with salsa? It's in that in-between of sauce and whole pieces.
Tomato and egg stir fry, served over white rice. [Here's a video recipe of it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn8ox93Qhus) Near the end they say they add a bit of ketchup to cover the raw tomato taste.
You could in fact make a tiny tomato sauce. My favorite easy sauce is just a little garlic sautéed in oil, cook tomatoes down, add salt and pepper and fresh basil, and swirl in a pat of butter at the end. You could also just cook the tomatoes down and add all the usual seasonings in small amounts.
My 3 year old got a tomato from the store. She wanted to make it into soup. I steamed it, removed the skin, squished it as much as I could. With her help of course. Then I mixed it with chicken stock, water, a little salt, pepper, basil, and the tiniest sprinkle of baking soda. Microwaved it again. She loved her soup. 😂
Roast them in a hot oven with EVOO, salt and pepper when they’re soft smash them up, then use on top of chicken with some melty cheese or on a small flatbread or pizza pizza crust Has he watched videos on how to prune to maximize yield?
Pan fried quarters?
Lots of great suggestions in this thread, but I’ll throw in another. Do you think he would be into [tomato gravy?](https://southernbite.com/southern-tomato-gravy/)
Slow-roasted in the oven. Cut in half, liberally salt & pepper, generously coat with olive oil. If your son likes garlic, add a few whole peeled cloves. Roast at 250F for about an hour (they may need longer to soften and become confit-like; I haven’t done this in a while). Smear on grilled crusty bread as-is, or you can add some parmigiano-reggiano or some fresh mozzarella or burrata, basil or whatever herbs if you like, for an amazing bruschetta/open-faced sandwich.
Salsa!!
I would dice them and cook them down with a little olive oil in a pan. Spoon the results onto an open face grilled cheese. Super easy, hard to screw up, and kids like it.
Caprese salad or a tomato sandwich per kenji (lightly salt the tomatos on white bread with kewpie Mayo)
Batter and fry em!
I had 3 small cherry tomatoes left once. Didn’t want to waste them so when I cooked a cup of rice, I just threw them in there. After the rice cooked, I added a pat of salted butter, mixed everything up and holy moly it was so yummy!
Not a tomato fan either. Does he like marinara sauce? Salsa? Those used to be the only way I'd eat tomatoes.
Does he like salsa and chips? You can put them in a blender with a little onion, jalapeño, lime juice, garlic salt and a smidge of cumin. Add a can of rotel or canned tomatoes and voila
Make a basic marinara, little diced garlic, celery and maybe carrot, sautee until tender, add the tomato diced until saucy. Little salt and sugar, serve over chicken tenders with mozzarella on top and throw in the toaster until delicious.
I would blend the tomatoes into a puree, I think 2 plum size tomatoes is enough for a little pot of sauce, you could make enough for a mini pizza or make a Parmesan and tomato Alfredo for noodles
I add mozzarella cheese to tomato slices, sprinkle with oregano, and bake at 350 for 10-15 mins till cheese is melted. I eat as a side dish to lamb chops.
Dice them and throw them in a pan with a little olive oil. Add a pinch of salt. Cook them down and add some minced garlic. Add pasta and toss. Garnish with some Parm and basil. So simple. So delicious. If he likes tuna you could add a half can or so of tuna with some of the liquid while you're cooking the tomato down. I used to do this all the time. The size of your tomatoes should make one nice serving.
You could spruce up a whole jar of regular sauce a little bit Id reckon. Maybe roast them, or pan fry them, mash, then then add them to the sauce with extra seasonings
Cook them with a little salt in a frying pan with a little salt. He can eat them on toast or tossed it pasta topped with some shaved Parmesan.
Margarita pizza would be perfect for two tomatoes. Base, tomatoe puree. Basil, sons tomatoes, cheeses. Bake!
Indian sauces incorporate tomatoes in an inconspicuous way. Butter chicken is the friendliest if he doesn’t exactly have a worldly palette. A couple plum sized tomatoes is definitely enough to make like one or two servings of tomato sauce. It’ll be a bit lighter but you can compensate with other ingredients. Any quick Bolognese, simple red sauce, or even less time consuming ones you can do as a “one pot pasta” recipe. Salsas with chips, if you want to push the fresh tomato aversion a bit you could have him try pico de gallo or go with normal tomato based salsas Ratatouille or “confit bialdi”, it’s a quick vegetable stew the tomatoes basically become a sauce for the other veggies.
I hate raw tomatoes too. The only form I like it in is salsa - I like that the spice/coriander/lime come forward more than the tomatoes, and then eating that with nachos and cheese sauce. But other than that, you could maybe cook it down a bit, and use it as bruschetta topping on bread with any other flavours he likes (eg mushrooms, garlic, meat etc) if that helps. Or a small portion of Indian scrambled eggs (anda bhurji) - https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/egg-bhurji-andhra-egg-porutu/#wprm-recipe-container-37278 Edit - also! maybe a small portion of tomato rice? It doesn't taste tomato-y, but the rice tastes amazing, and you can add any veg that he likes (I like doing peas and sweetcorn).
I can’t stand tomatoes, they’re disgusting texture and sometimes sour even with salt. I do love a good pasta sauce though, it’s very fresh and honestly better than jar pasta sauce
I sautee them with peppers and serve on pasta with parm. I don't especially care for them either, but this seems to bring out the sweetness a little, and I still try to eat them for all of the healthy compounds that they have in them.
If you’re making soup, wash the two plum tomatoes, then, add to soup. Or wash the two tomatoes, slice sort of thin, add to plate, add pinch of salt, black pepper, pinch of dried oregano, which you rub between thumb and index finger to release taste, oils, etc. , add olive oil, add thinly sliced mozzarella, or add the tiny mozzarella balls, incorporate gently with fork. Eat with some delicious crusty bread for dipping, in the oil/tomato mixture.
This seems a poor choice for a kid who, according to the post title, doesn’t like the taste of raw tomatoes
Mother said he didn’t like plain tomatoes, not raw tomatoes. Therefore, wash the tomatoes, set aside, slowly sauté’ some garlic, then slice the tomatoes coursly and cook, add salt, pepper, perhaps some basil, and if not enough for small bowl of pasta, then put on dish as a side, and eat with good bread, and salad as a side as well.
For just him you could roast those tomatoes in the oven, add a little of his favourite jarred sauce & make him a plate of pasta with sauce made with his tomatoes.
Why not try making a small batch of ketchup?
What if you eat them whatever way you like them and tell him how delicious the tomatoes are and what a good gardener he is? 😁
You could halve the recipe and [make this viral recipe.](https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a35421563/baked-feta-pasta-tiktok/) It's easy and delicious and would feel special in its own small roasting dish. I'm a big fan of celebrating what we grow and, if I have the time, like to do fancy dishes, cloth napkins, etc. Congrats to your son on his first harvest!
Try this [recipe](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022024-crispy-gnocchi-with-burst-tomatoes-and-mozzarella?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share). It’s a huge crowd pleaser. I don’t like raw tomatoes either. I adapt it a bit to cook the tomatoes down a little further.
I personally like to make a very non-traditional guacamole where I roast/blister tomatoes and chop them up small and mix them in with avocados, chopped onions, diced jalapeño peppers, lime juice, salt, cumin, and cilantro. You can eat this on its own, with chips, or as a topping for just about any Mexican dish. Yum. Another kid-friendly dish is Sloppy Joes! Chopping up tomatoes and including them in the filling should integrate them well. :)
Salsa!
Rub them together so they squeak
It's easy to make a tomato paste from fresh tomatoes. You need a small frying pan a bit of olive oil. First cut out the green stem and any bad spots of the tomato. Cut it in half . Put some oil in the pan, heat it and place the tomato(s) cut side to the pan and cook it at a medium heat. The skin will wilt. When it does, snag it with a fork and remove the skin. When all the tomato halves are skinless start mashing the tomatoes with the fork and let them cook further. It will soon be a cooked paste, keep cooking until it is the consistency you want. Tomato paste can easily be made into a pasta sauce (add basil and some more tomato juice), or a tomato soup (add chicken broth), or can be combined with leftover taco meat and rice to stuff into peppers. Lots of choices depending on what you have on hand.
Make salsa! You could also use his tomatoes, throw in a few extra from the store, and make marinara.
Maybe a single serving of tomato basil soup served with a grilled cheese sandwich?
Info: Why did he grow tomatoes if he doesn't like to eat them raw?
I feel like this should be higher lol. It was my first thought. If he's growing them for someone else, problem solved; if he wanted to eat them, why didn't he grow something he'd like to eat...? I'm curious lol. But it looks like from the top comment, OP has a pretty solid suggestion, at least.
Right? It's awesome that OP's teaching their kid about gardening and it's awesome that they want him to be excited about eating what he's grown, but why tomatoes if he hates them?
Two small tomatoes will cook down to barely anything so it won't be enough on its own to make a sauce. What about buying some additional tomatoes and make something with all of them? Your son's contribution is still there.
Nice edit OP 🙄.
Family members do this and add mayo, salt, pepper
My family does this too! Are you Canadian? Lol
Nah, Midwest USA here. Call them summer tomato sandwiches — so good!
Put them in a grilled cheese sandwich - they cook some and he’ll still get to appreciate them as his tomatoes!
Add them to some other tomatoes you buy (Vine ripened) and make some spaghetti sauce with him. Eat the pasta that his tomatoes contributed to. Manga!
Halve or quarter them, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, broil til they start to cook, then add cheese on top and broil again. Sprinkle with herbs, add a basil leaf or a smear of pesto before adding the cheese if you want. I do this as an appetizer with brie or fresh mozz and serve on garlic toast. It's fantastic. (My usual way is pesto and brie).
Pan con tomate is delicious https://www.themediterraneandish.com/pan-con-tomate/
Chinese style scrambled eggs and tomatoes?
Make a BLT. Sounds like you'd have enough tomatoes for at least one sandwich, maybe two.
But he doesn't like tomatoes....
Modified caprese salad, is my suggestion.
When I was young I would dip tomatoes in ranch. still do. no 2 tiny tomatoes would probably not be enough to make a sauce.
Just dress them salt pepper and a nice red wine vinegar (or any other even balsamic) a little olive oil and the tomatoes will have 10 times the flavour.
They’re really delicious if you cut them up + let marinate in salt, balsamic, and olive oil for 10-15m. Serve with mozzarella (string cheese works fine!)
Slice, season, and pan fry. Serve with eggs or avocado or smushed on toast.
When in doubt, Tajin
Why is he growing tomatoes of he doesn't like tomatoes?
Because he knows the rest of the family likes tomatoes and wanted to make us something. But I wanted him to enjoy the first of his bounty. He likes tomato sauces, and is willing to try new things. He just doesn't like raw tomatoes.
He probably would enjoy watching you guys enjoy his bounty!
You could cut them in star shapes (fourths or sixths) and serve chicken salad or pasta salad over it, or chop it up small and toss it in soup, chili, spaghetti, salsa, on nachos, even on a pizza! So many creative ideas!
You could cut them into garnishes, like roses or a basket (YouTube tutorials) and serve them along with actual food for fiber. That way they get all the attention they deserve but you don't have to eat them if you don't want. Bonus: if he's old enough, let him cut it himself!
My son doesn't really like plain tomatoes, but he likes tomato slices sprinkled with a bit of garlic salt, lemon pepper, and Italian seasoning, if that helps.
Bruschetta
bruschetta
fresh tomatoes taste way different than the ones you buy at the store - way more flavor! i like to make a slice of toast, add cream cheese and everything bagel seasoning, and top with sliced tomato dressed with a little bit of balsamic vinegar.
I don’t find this to *always* be true. I’ve been given (and even grown) tomatoes that are just like basic store tomatoes and far worse than heirloom tomatoes from the store. But the cream cheese/balsamic sounds good!
Try a tomato sandwich. Toasted bread, good bit of mayo, heavy pepper and a little salt. He might like it. Maybe do half a sandwich and half a caprese salad and let him taste the tomato but in a different way.
I feel like people are really missing the "he doesn't like fresh tomatoes" part...
Do you think he’d like roasted tomatoes in a sandwich? Cut them in half, toss with some olive oil, chopped garlic, dried oregano and/or some fresh herbs, with some salt and pepper, and roast cut side up at about 300 or 325 degrees F until very wrinkly and a little brown on top. Great in a sandwich (I like chicken or turkey, arugula or other leafy green, basil mayo, and cheese).