Indigo's Tantalising Tomato Recipes

Earthy Chef Indigo Wheelaghan is a big fan of Jim Craig's tomatoes so when we asked for a couple of recipes he wasn't short on inspiration.

Confit cherry vine tomato soup.

750g Jim Craig's red cherry tomatoes.

250g vine tomatoes

4 red onions

1/2 a head of celery

one large carrot

one bulb of garlic

generous bunch of rosemary

generous bunch of thyme

tablespoon of sherry vinegar

teaspoon of brown sugar

basil leaves and creme fraiche to garnish

Slice tomatoes in half, roughly dice red onion, cellary, carrot and garlic.

Place in a large roasting tray, add picked herbs sea salt, cracked black pepper, cherry vinegar and a very generous glug of extra virgin olive oil, mix through the vegetables.

Cover the tray with tin foil, place in the oven at 180 degrees C, leave for one hour.

Remove foil then place back in oven for 30-40 mins until the tomatoes begin to char.

Place in large saucepan, blend until smooth adding water and seasoning to taste and texture.

Finish with torn fresh basil, creme fraiche and extra virgin olive oil.

Panzanella Salad

500g Jim Craig's mixed cherry tomatoes

1 red onion

small bunch of basil

small bunch of oregano

small bunch of parsley

some old bread

3 cloves of garlic

cherry vinegar

Slice tomatoes in half. Finely slice red onion. Add a 2 tablespoons of cherry vinegar, and 3 of extra virgin olive oil, season with sea walt and cracked black pepper.

Tear old bread into chunks, place in a roasting tray with garlic cloves, not pealed, drizzle with olive oil, season and roast in oven at about 150 degrees C until golden brown.

Pick some parsley, oregano and basil and add to the vegetables.

Finally add the bread, removing the garlic cloves and serve straight away.

Perfect with white fish, or chicken.

Producer of the Month - June 2011 - Jim Craig

The Earthy Producer of the Month

Jim Craig

Jim Craig is one of the last of a once mighty breed, the Clyde Valley tomato grower. Up until the 1930’s the region was Scotland’s orchard, with acres of apple trees, some stretching back for hundreds of years. Seeing their livelihoods whittled away by cheaper English & continental imports the farmers embarked on what is still reckoned to be the biggest single investment in Scottish agricultural history – they built state of the art, water heated greenhouses of a size & scale never seen before. So successful was the gamble that, by the 1950’s the Clyde Valley was synonymous with tomato production, but just as in the 30’s, growers in the 60’s & 70’s found themselves undercut as better transportation allowed Spanish & Italian growers to deliver their tomatoes all over Europe.

Always price conscious, supermarkets squeezed the pricier, but fresher and better tasting Scottish tomatoes off the shelves. Facing this huge drop in demand dozens of the Clyde Valley growers either sold out to garden centres & nurseries or simply allowed their majestic green houses to fall into disrepair & collapse. Slowly, but surely, however, a mini revival is occurring. Spurred on by the increased consumer desire for local produce, growers like Jim are circumventing the supermarkets to sell directly to the public either at farmers markets or at stores like Earthy where the fuller flavour and firmer texture that only fresh Scottish tomatoes can provide are appreciated. Jim admits that Scottish tomatoes are now a niche product, but that allows them to specialise in heritage varieties & even expand his range to include strawberries and cucumbers.

Available from late April until early November, Jim Craig’s tomatoes are a taste of the past. So next time you are hankering for tomatoes ‘like they used to be’ try one of Jim’s.