Amazing this week we celebrate the Doubly Delicious Two Year Anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging. Kalyn, the creator of the event, organized some WHB anniversary activities. More information about the activities you find here.

One of the activity is to enter a recipe featuring one vegetable and one herb: doubly delish!

This summer is the summer of tomatoes and basil for me.

Doubly delish!

I still can harvest both of them. I have so many tomatoes I need to preserve them weekly. That's great so I have a taste of summer during dark and unpleasant winter days. Yes, such days exsists in Andalucia, too. :-)

Did you know? The tomato is the world's most popular fruit. And yes, botanically speaking it is a fruit, not a vegetable. So I'm featuring a fruit and not a vegetable. I hope this is not a problem. Tomatoes were first cultivated by Aztecs and Incas. Explorers returning from Mexico introduced the tomato into Europe, where it was first mentioned in 1556. Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C and fibre. Medical research suggests that the consumption of lycopene - the stuff that makes tomatoes red - may prevent cancer. Lycopene is part of the family of pigments called carotenoids, which are natural compounds that create the colours of fruits and vegetables. Lycopene us the most powerful antioxidant in the carotenoid family and, with vitamins C and E, protect us from the free radicals that degrade many parts of the body. Cooked tomatoes have higher concentrations of lycopene than non-cooked tomatoes. Don't store ripe tomatoes in the fridge. Cold temperatures lessen the flavor in tomatoes.

We are barbecuing at least twice a week. If love grilled vegetables, sometimes I have some leftovers, that I'm using for a delicious pasta sauce. The grilled vegetable gave a special taste to the tomato sauce.

Pasta veraniega
serves 2

400 g fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded
olive oil
1 tb tomato paste
1 onion, half finely chopped, rest finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
grilled eggplant
Parmesan, grated
Mascarpone

Cut tomatoes into pieces.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add onion and garlic, cook until softened. Add tomato paste let fry 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and basil, season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Cut eggplant into pieces and add to the sauce, let simmer another 15 Minutes.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water, drain when "al dente".

Mix pasta, parmesan and sauce. Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh basil and Mascarpone.

Happy anniversary to WHB!

weekend herb blogging

More recipes and entries in English.