Tomato Salad and Roasted Chicken – In a Tagine
So of course after receiving all those wonderful products from FromTheFarm.com I was inspired to start experimenting with them right away.
Santa Sweet Grape and Ugly Ripe Heirloom Tomatoes
Santa Sweet, the name of the company is also the name of the seed variety of this original grape tomato. The company owns the particular seed variety along with the Ugly Ripe heirloom variety seeds. Therefore they are the first company to bring the grape tomato to the United States. Any other company who sells “grape tomatoes” and are not Santa Sweet- their seeds are a cousin of the original. These grape tomatoes are super sweet and very pop-able. Children love their shape and taste. The Ugly Ripe tomatoes are reminiscent of a delicious tomato fresh from my grandfather’s backyard garden. They may be ribbed and bumpy, but their flavor is delicious and full of pure tomato flavor. Perfect to eat like an apple, or chopped in salads.
I live with a “tomato connoisseur” who just fell in love with both of these varieties of tomatoes. So much so, that all we really did with them was make wonderfully simple salads dressed with balsamic vinegar and and extra virgin olive oil.
My favorite salad was these dressed tomatoes over a bed of spicy organic arugala, mixed with a nice ripe avocado and some smoked cheddar cheese. It was like summer in a bowl. We ate these kinds of salads for 3 days straight!
FromTheFarm.com offers a Tomato Variety Pack that includes 6 Ugly Ripe tomatoes and 2 pints of Santa Sweet Grape tomatoes!
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Sierra Olive Oils and Spice Packets
So everyone has been asking to see how I roast a chicken in my tagine. I love my tagine and I try to come up with as many uses for it as possible. I am a huge fan of roasted chickens, and I usually roast one or two a month and I always make soup from the carcass. So when I got my tagine as a present, I did an experiment and roasted a chicken in it. As with anything you put in a tagine, the chicken came out super tender and falling off the bone – with no basting or liquid necessary. You literally throw it in the tagine, and throw the tagine in a 350 F oven and cook for about 1 1/2 hours. That is it!
This time, I decided to rub my delicious organic roaster with Sundried Tomato and Basil Olive Oil from Sierra Olive Oils. The company had also sent me a variety of spice packets used for dips (which are not available yet, but will soon be), but I thought it would be fun to try one as a rub for the chicken, so I chose the garlic variety.
I had some leftover fresh fennel that I stuffed the bird with. It came out perfectly delicious. Served with peas, it was a delicious and homey dinner, and almost too easy to make! π
Judy - February 18, 2009 at 11:02 am
Looks like a great way to cook a chicken!!! I really need a tagine…or at least T. keeps telling me I do!
Happy Cook - February 18, 2009 at 11:08 am
Wow that looks like a real comfort dish.
You can serve this to me anytime of the day or week .
Delicious.
kat - February 18, 2009 at 11:14 am
Oh I buy Santa Sweets in the winter when I can’t get good local tomatoes & they are so good
dawn - February 18, 2009 at 11:23 am
I want a Tangine! Summer in a bowl, yep, you said that right.
Jenn I love that first shot.
Nice chicken, I would love that for dinner and then leftovers in a nice sandwich with a bit of chutney. Mmmmm.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie - February 18, 2009 at 11:23 am
Looks like those oils add great flavors for the chicken! I adore fresh tomato salads!
nina - February 18, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I guess I ‘ll have to put a tagine on my wish list!!! I love your photos…they look so ..well, “middle eastern”. I don’t know if you know what I mean!!!
Superchef - February 18, 2009 at 3:21 pm
those tomatoes do looks plump n juicy…hope you enjoyed your salad!
katie - February 18, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I’ve been kicking myself for months for passing up a gorgeous tagine in a little shop near our old house… Now I can really kick me….Lovely chicken
Peter G - February 18, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Thanks for revealing your “chicken baked in tagine” secret Jenn!
beth - February 18, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Tomato season is still a long way off here – Im very jealous. I seriously need to persuade hubby to buy me a Tagine!!
Jan - February 18, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Those tomatoes look sooooo good – as does everything else! I could eat a bowl of tomatoes like some people can eat a huge bar of chocolate.
Oh and I LOVE my tagine too! I’m loving the idea of your roasted chicken in the tagine.
The Duo Dishes - February 18, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Oooh ooh oooh! Talk about a lovely meal. Makes you feel so warm inside.
Soma - February 18, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Awesome!! I need a Tagineeee!! I posted a tagine dish but cooked on the stovetop not having a tagine. Those fresh tomatoes look gorgeous.
Cris - February 18, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I need a tagine too!!! If we look back 10 years, such things like tagine were not used much in our small world, am I wrong or globalization has to do with our new eating habits? Something to think about. xoxox
toontz - February 18, 2009 at 8:55 pm
We have roast chicken quite often. It is such an easy dish, especially on a harried day! I usually donβt have much time to do anything to it, your chicken sounds very tasty!
Brittany - February 18, 2009 at 10:11 pm
You seriously just blew my mind with the tagine trick. I’m trying that this week.
I love it when your simple roast chicken ritual gets a rebirth.
Sara - February 18, 2009 at 10:18 pm
I’m loving these tagine posts. I can’t wait until tomato season.
pam - February 19, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I love the photo of the chicken being drizzled with olive oil. And now, I think, I simply must have a tagine!
Bellini Valli - February 20, 2009 at 9:43 am
I need that tangine Jenn!!!!!!!!!!!
Farmgirl_dk - February 23, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Oh yum…that tomato/avocado salad made my mouth water…the simplicity is wonderful.
Of course, I immediately had to google “tangine” to figure out what the heck that was. lol
I want to hear more about your potentail move to the country! π (thanks for your nice comment on my blog, btw)