Five appetizer recipes with cherry tomatoes perfect for a summer weekend snack

The tomato is at its best in the middle of summer and it is worth taking advantage of for all kinds of recipes. It’s delicious flavor also depends on the variety and the point of ripeness when picked, but cherry tomatoes have the virtue that they will almost always be tasty, crispy and aromatic, sweet and refreshing.

Because of their small size and great variety of shapes and colors, the cherry trees are perfect to fill our pecking of the weekend in color at this time. Tartlets, skewers, bruschetta, and cups with cream cheese … we can even roast them with fresh herbs to crown our favorite tapas or enjoy with a good bread and olive oil. Little more is needed to enjoy the snack in summer.

Elongated, kumato, yellow, orange, perfectly round like small balls, on a branch … It is interesting to buy them in bulk choosing a good variety to play with shapes, colors and textures, although we can also bet on our favorites. Normally they are collected at their optimum ripeness so we can enjoy them the same day we take them home, or, if we are lucky, we have collected them.

They usually endure very well several days in the refrigerator and their flavor does not lose much with this appliance, although it is advisable not to expose them to the coldest area and let them temper a little before consuming. It is best to take them very fresh, when they are crispy and explode in the mouth with all their tasty juices.

Cherry tarts, goat cheese and maple syrup

Ingredients

1 sheet of chilled puff pastry, 1 curl of goat cheese, 40 cherry tomatoes, 2 sprigs of thyme, 4 teaspoons of maple syrup, salt and pepper.

Preparations

We preheat the oven to 200º C. Stretch the puff pastry and cut four 12-centimeter diameter discs that we will place in an eight-centimeter diameter cake pan lined with baking paper. They can also be cooked flat without problems on a tray lined with baking paper. We puncture with a fork so that it does not swell too much and we bake it for 10 minutes or until we see, it lightly browned. We wash the cherry and dry them. Place a medallion of goat cheese in the center of the puff pastry, distribute the cherry around, pepper, and sprinkle the chopped fresh thyme. We pour a teaspoon of maple syrup over each tartlet and bake again 10 minutes until the cheese softens.

Roasted cherry tomatoes with Provencal herbs

Ingredients

250 g of cherry tomatoes 250 g, 5 g of granulated garlic, 5 g of Provencal herbs and 15 ml of extra virgin olive oil.

Preparations

We wash the cherry, cut them in half and place them on a baking dish. Sprinkle with garlic salt or granulated garlic and herbs. Sprinkle with olive oil and roast in the oven at 180º C, with heat up and down, 30 minutes. To easily cut the tomatoes, we place them on a smooth plate and on top we place another equal plate upside down. In the space between the two, we introduce a ham knife and slide it from side to side, moving back and forth.

Monkfish and tomato skewers

Ingredients

200 g of clean fresh monkfish, 6 prawns, 6 cherry tomatoes, 6 French onions, extra virgin olive oil, salt flakes, ground black pepper.

Preparations

We clean the monkfish, wash it, dry it and cut it into regular pieces. To make skewers or sauce it is very practical for the fishmonger to leave your tail perfectly clean, what I do at home is to take out the loins and thus no spines contain any of the parts and the thickest pieces remain. We wash and dry the tomatoes. Peel the onions. We heat a plate with a few drops of oil. We assemble the skewers interspersing cherry tomatoes, monkfish, prawns and scallions. We pour a little oil and pepper and we grill on both sides until it is to our liking. We salted and served immediately.

Glasses of Manchego cheese cream with tapenade and cherry tomatoes

Ingredients

120 g of Manchego cheese 120 g, 240 g of liquid cream 240 g, 4 cherry tomatoes, 40 g of tapenade of black olives, 4 leaves of fresh basil, ground black pepper to taste, 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Preparations

We start by grating the Manchego cheese. In a saucepan on the heat, we heat the cream and pepper, add the cheese and cook for three minutes over medium heat while stirring. We distribute the mixture in shot glasses and reserve. In another saucepan, we put some water to boil, and we make a small cross with a sharp knife at the base of each tomato. When the water bubbled, we scalded the cherry for a few seconds, peeled them and placed them on top of the cream. Put a teaspoon of tapenade on top of each tomato, top with a basil leaf and water each glass with half a teaspoon of oil.

Caprese bruschetta

Ingredients

2 slices of rustic bread, fresh basil, assorted cherry tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and fresh mozzarella.

Preparations

We wash and dry the basil leaves well. We keep some buds to decorate. Cut the fresh mozzarella into slices, and the cherry tomatoes into small pieces. We put the grill to heat and we toast the slices of bread so that they are crispy and hot and so that they can support the weight. When we turn the toasts, we take the opportunity to put the mozzarella on the grill for a few seconds so that it melts slightly. To assemble the bruschetta, we put a little olive oil on the bread; place the basil leaves on top and the mozzarella on them. You just need to fill in the holes with the cherry pieces and garnish with the bouquet or basil flower.