Thousands of recipes including tomatoes have been written. We tried some of these using "tomata straggisti" and obtained excellent results. In those recipes taken from cook books, we substituted fresh tomato with "tomata straggisti". If, however, you have access to fresh, "real" tomatoes, use them, otherwise try "tomata straggisti". You’ll be amazed by the outcome. We copied the cook book recipes word for word, leaving the words "tomata straggisti" in parentheses when used as a substitute.
The ready-to-use sauces with "tomata straggisti" are nothing more than what their name says: ready to use. These sauces provide a fast and easy solution for those of us who "struggle" in the kitchen. We substituted the plain "tomata straggisti" with one of the ready sauces and were happily surprised with the result of our cooking experiments.
- Past with red sauce
- Dakos (Cretan rusks)
- Eggs and tomato
- Tomato Soup
- Baked Eggplants (Aubergines) with Tomato Sauce
- Sofrito
- Smyrna Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
1 jar of "tomata straggisti" or of a ready-to-use sauce serves 4.
Cook the pasta and while hot, and serve it onto the plates or serving platter. Gently shake the jar of "tomata straggisti"/ready sauce and spoon over the hot pasta. Top with grated cheese and/or spices of your choice.
Ingredients for 4 servings
4 Barley rusks
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 jar of "tomata straggisti"
Oregano, salt
1 ½ cup feta or other fresh cheese
Dunk the rusks in a bowl of water for for 3-5 seconds and then shake off excess water. If you prefer very crunchy rusks, omit the dunking. Try the rusks to see if they can be eaten without being moistened first, since some are very hard. Once moistened, the rusks have to be served immediately.
Put them on a plate and spread each one 1-2 T of olive oil. Now, spoon on the "tomata straggisti". Add salt if desired. Break up the feta with a fork and place on top of the rusks. Sprinkle with oregano and serve.
Variations include the use of other fresh or dried herbs.
In addition, try using the ready-to-use "tomata straggisti" sauce with olives and capers. Garnish with more capers.
Ingredients for 2 servings
4 eggs
1 jar of "tomata straggisti"
1 c extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper
Add the oil and the "tomata straggisti" to a deep frying pan and heat at a high flame. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour into the boiling tomato sauce stirring constantly in order to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Lower the flame and cover partially so that the excess water can escape. The whole procedure should take less than 10 minutes. Serve immediately with feta cheese, warm bread and a green salad. For a variation, try one of our ready-to-use "tomata straggisti" sauces (except the sauce with olives and capers - we don’t this one goes well with the eggs). You’ll be happily surprised by the outcome.
In the past, the same recipe was used in the Karditsa Plain by substituting the olive oil with pork fat.
Ingredients for 6
4 jars of "tomata straggisti"
1 c green onion, very finely chopped
1 c onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 liter chicken or beef stock
1 T sugar or honey
1 t marjoram
1 t fresh ginger, grated
1 bay leaf
125 ml (1/2 c) mavrodaphne or other sweet wine
6 T boiled rice
3 T olive oil
1 T butter
Salt
pepper
for garnishing
Parmesan cheese
Saute the fresh and dry onion and the garlic in the olive oil. Add the tomato and bring to a boil. Add the stock, salt and pepper, bay leaf, sugar, marjoram and ginger. After the soup has boiled well for a few minutes, add the wine. Remove the bay leaf and serve hot with a spoonful of boiled rice in each bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Jan Traeger - Synodinou & Lain Mclntosh.
Ricettes from the Nuns of Cefalonia. Cefalonian Recipes.
(Propombos) Editors.
(The recipes from the book "Ρετσέτες από τις σιόρες της Κεφαλονιάς. Κεφαλονίτικες Συνταγές." kindly granted by the Publisher)
Traditional summer dish prepared when eggplants are in season. This tasty dish can be served hot or cold and is delicious with our without cheese (vegetarian).
Ingredients for 4-6 servings
4 large eggplants (approximately 1 kg)
1 kg very ripe, strained fresh tomatoes
or 1-2 jars "tomata straggisti"
1 onion grated
150 ml (50 ml for the sauce) olive oil
5-6 garlic cloves, pressed
250 g crumbled Feta cheese (optional)
50 g grated Parmesan or other hard cheese (optional)
pepper
Salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C(normal oven) or 180°C (convection oven) or 5-6 gas mark.
Cut the eggplants lengthwise in ½ cm slices, omitting the thin external slices with the peel.
ΤFry the slices on both sides in the olive oil until golden and then place on a piece of paper towel to drain.
Saute the onion in a tablespoon of oil until soft. Do not brown.
Add the tomato, garlic, a little salt (if not using cheese) and pepper and let simmer until the sauce thickens. Remove from the fire. If using cheese, add the Feta and combine well.
Spoon a layer of sauce on the bottom of a deep baking pan, followed by two layers of eggplant. Repeat with the remaining eggplant and sauce. Top with a final layer of tomato sauce.
Sprinkle with grated cheese if desired.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
For a lighter variation, instead of frying the eggplant slices, brush both sides with olive oil and brown under the grill.
Jan Traeger - Synodinou & Lain Mclntosh.
Ricettes from the Nuns of Cefalonia. Cefalonian Recipes.
(Propombos) Editors.
(The recipes from the book "Ρετσέτες από τις σιόρες της Κεφαλονιάς. Κεφαλονίτικες Συνταγές." kindly granted by the Publisher)
Sofrito is considered to be of Italian, specifically Venetian, influence and is prepared on other Ionian islands, including Corfu. This dish has a flavorful and piquant sauce, and is often served with rice or mashed potatoes.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 kg boneless beef (use a cut for either roasting or stewing), cut in 1 cm slices
500 g fresh tomatoes or 1 jar of "tomata straggisti"
8 T olive oil
250 g flour for dredging
8 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed
1 T wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Season the beef slices with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Saute gently in 4 T oil until golden brown on both sides.
In another pan, combine the tomato, remaining oil, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper and gently simmer on a low flame.
Add the meat slices and simmer on low until tender, approximately 2 hours. Cooking should be slow since the breaded slices may otherwise stick to the pan.
Ingredients
For 30-35 meatballs
1 kg ground beef
1 c bread crumbs moistened in 1 ½ c water
2 garlic cloves
½ t cumin
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of ground allspice
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying
2 c fresh tomatoes, chopped or 1 jar of "tomata straggisti"
Combine the ground beef with all the ingredients except the tomato. Roll into sausage-like pieces and fry gently in olive oil, without flouring. After frying, remove the pieces and most of the oil. Add the tomato to the remaining oil and let boil gently. Add a little water and salt and then add the meat balls. Let simmer for 30 minutes.