Clare on tomato overload
What to cook with too many tomatoes
When the counter fills up, Clare sorts tomatoes by urgency and uses the softest ones first.
Too many tomatoes is not a crisis. It is a scheduling problem.
Sort them before you cook
Clare starts by separating tomatoes that must be used tonight from tomatoes that can sit. The squishiest become sauce, the prettiest become salad, and the oddballs become something roasted.
That single decision keeps you from wasting the best ones on the wrong job.
- Soft and split tomatoes: roast or sauce tonight
- Firm ripe tomatoes: salads, sandwiches, chopped salsas
- Small sweet tomatoes: blister for pasta or toast
- Half-ripe tomatoes: leave on the counter, not the fridge
Use voice when dinner depends on the fridge
Clare is strongest when you can show her the tomatoes plus the rest of the refrigerator. Cheese, herbs, bread, leftovers, and one neglected onion can turn the answer from generic to useful.