With the festive season upon us, we’re all being inspired by delicious meals to prepare for family and friend gatherings. Tomatoes are the perfect addition to rich, decadent meals because they offer acidity and sweetness if slow roasted or zingy freshness if served raw. In whichever way you need them, tomatoes will always deliver.  For a truly delicious festive season menu, you need balance  in both texture and taste and that’s where tomatoes come in – they are the umami bombs and give any meal a delicious moreish and savoury character.

Hero ZZ2 Tomatoes this Festive Season

We’ve developed four recipes using a variety of ZZ2 tomatoes that will add brightness, acidity and richness to your holiday entertaining. We’ve even included a little health shot for those heavy-headed mornings (we’ve all been there) and if you’re one for homemade gifts, our confit tomato jar will make someone very happy. These recipes will complement those traditional festive flavours beautifully, and what’s more, they translate to any time of the year.

Morning Tomato & Ginger Health Shot

You’ll be glad to know that tomatoes are full of the good stuff — lycopene, vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. To make sure you’re not losing out on your essential vitamins and minerals during the festive (party) season, we’ve developed our version of a morning kickstarter shot using tomatoes and ginger. You can make a  batch of this elixir that will last a week and take it every morning — you’ll be thanking yourself by the time the New Year rolls around.

We’ve heated the mixture slightly to pasteurise it and help it stay fresher for longer. We recommend adding the ginger and lemon juice separately, as they will lose their beneficial properties with heat.

Tip: If you’re a fan of turmeric, add some freshly minced turmeric to the mixture. It has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties.

Recipe for Morning Tomato & Ginger Health Shot

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Confit Tomatoes with Whole Garlic & Thyme

To confit something means to slow poach it in fat. We’ve confited these tomatoes in olive oil until they become deliciously soft, sweet and juicy. They are delicious served alongside a tapas spread with freshly baked bread, torn basil and burrata.

We recommend using ZZ2 Medley Mix and ZZ2 Sante tomatoes. The medley offers a mix of colours and shapes, while the Sante variety are small and sweet, which lend to the dish’s punchy flavour.

Gifting idea! Olive oil also preserves well, so a jar of these confit tomatoes will make for a beautiful homemade gift for a loved one. Just be sure to sterilise the storage jar and date before gifting.

Recipe for Confit Tomatoes with Whole Garlic & Thyme

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Tomato & Chorizo Pull Apart Bread

We love this pull apart bread for a party! It’s easy to serve, fun to eat and scrumptious served alongside a good dipping olive oil. Studded with ZZ2 Medley Mix tomatoes and slices of chorizo, this bread is not only tasty, but gorgeous to look at. We recommend serving this as an appetiser as soon as your guests arrive.

This bread would work well alongside the confit tomatoes too — the garlic and thyme-infused olive oil will go exceptionally well with these powerful flavours and the soft bread is perfect for mopping up the last drop of oil.

Recipe for Tomato & Chorizo Pull Apart Bread

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Tomato & Calamari Salad with Herbed Vinaigrette

This tomato and calamari salad offers sweetness and acidity that would be delicious served as a starter or even as a light lunch for your festivities. Once again, ZZ2 Medley Mix is our top choice here, as the different colours and shapes of the tomatoes make this salad a feast for the eyes.

The calamari grills exceptionally quickly in the pan, so once all of the rest of the ingredients are prepped, it’s just a case of putting it together. If you have a little extra time, let the ingredients infuse in the herby vinaigrette for maximum flavour.

Serve with your favourite chilled white wine and chunks of pull apart bread – delish.

Recipe for Tomato & Calamari Salad with Herbed Vinaigrette

Looking for more ZZ2 tomato inspiration? Celebrate tomatoes all year round with these recipes.

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