Back in late April, I posted about Oxo’s garlic peeler, promising that I’d give a free one away to whomever submitted the best tasting garlic-centric recipe. I shockingly did not receive a huge amount of submissions, but nevertheless, there were entries, and I did eventually whittle them down to two finalists. The contenders: RachWho?’s Roasted Garlic Tomato Pasta and Alli’s Stuffed Tomatoes.
I then hit up the local farmer’s market to purchase some fresh ingredients and summoned over my panel of experts, Sly and jash, who would serve as fellow judges for the contest. Results, including the announcement of the winner, after the jump…
First I start with RachWho?’s recipe, which calls for two-to-three pints of cherry tomatoes. This is two baskets-worth from the farmer’s market. I felt like it was enough. (Note that I purchased both yellow and red for variety)
Here are the tomatoes after having been tossed with olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. The recipe calls for a balsamic glaze, but I figured that it would be come something of a glaze over the course of the hour it would spend in the oven.
Garlic, tossed in two tablespoons of olive oil, and ready to be roasted.
After I put the cherry tomatoes and the garlic in the oven, I get to work on Alli’s stuffed tomatoes. Here are some vine-ripened bad boys sliced in half, scooped out, and drying on a paper towel.
Time for more garlic.
Jash steps in and decides to use the Oxo garlic peeler to take care of the situation.
Peeling / making a mess.
Despite having been rolled about in the peeler, this garlic clove still has peel stuck to it. Hmmm…
Further tangoing with the garlic peeler.
Needless to say, jash meets with mixed results.
Eventually, when the six cloves are peeled, I puree them together with about a quarter of an onion. This isn’t explicitly mentioned in the recipe, but I just have to assume the garlic and onion need to be chopped and mixed together.
In a bowl goes the onion/garlic mixture as well as some olive oil, salt, and pepper.
I dip each of the tomato halves in the mixture and then set in a baking dish.
Next, some gorgonzola and Italian bread crumbs enter the fray.
And soon we have stuffing.
These smelled really garlicky.
At the thirty minute mark, I pull the garlic out and put the stuffed tomatoes in.
About twenty five minutes later, the cherry tomatoes are looking like this.
Did I mention how wonderful my apartment smelled?
Anyway, the next step is to smash the tomatoes, a process I took on with the help of a potato masher. I was very delicate, especially since some of the tomatoes had the tendency to explode with viciously hot tomato liquid that on occasion seared my delicate hands. Somehow I survived.
The smashed tomatoes go into the oven for another five or ten minutes, and then voila, we’re ready to assemble the meal!
Hot kitchen!
The stuffed tomatoes are done; so I just put them aside.
Meanwhile, I drain some shells I’ve cooked, and in the pot I add the tomatoes and all their juices, fresh basil, and mozzarella. I also add the roasted garlic and am supposed to include the oil that the garlic had cooked in; however, all the oil seems to have disappeared. Oh well.
Yum.
All mixed up and ready to go…
Sampling the goods. I have apparently already downed a stuffed tomato (I ultimately had two).
Jash tangles with the cheese.
For some reason the meal inspires Sly to engage in feats of strength.
This eventually leads to Sly’s demise.
The verdict:
This was a tough one. Both dishes were excellent. We truly loved them both, and actually, they worked great together, especially when some of the tomato stuffing fell into the pasta. The immediate reaction was that the stuffed tomato stole the show. It was rich and garlicky, which was exactly what we were looking for. However, the more we ate the pasta, the more we came to adore it. Everything about it was fresh, bright, flavorful, colorful, and wonderful. It was the perfect showcase for the ingredients.
However, while the pendulum swung toward the pasta, there was one undeniable issue. The garlic was simply not front and center. Unlike the stuffed tomato, which walloped us with garlicky goodness on the first bite (nay, whiff), the pasta featured the garlic in a very subtle way. Don’t get me wrong: the roasted garlic was delicious, but its presence was muted.
At the end of the day, this is a garlic competition, and while as a group we enjoyed the pasta more, we just had to give the trophy to the stuffed tomato. (I say that as if the stuffed tomato was total crap. It wasn’t. It was DELICIOUS).
You all should do yourselves a favor: make both recipes, serve them together, and enjoy yourselves. A perfect summer meal! And it only takes an hour!
Congrats to Alli for having the winning dish. Email me at bsideblog at gmail dotcom, and I’ll send you your garlic peeler!
Here are the downloadable recipes:
I am going to try both! and i love my garlic peeler. I know that you can have the same result by pressing down with the knife, but the peeler just feels more exciting.
I accept my defeat but am thankful you tried and loved my recipe. I’ll have to give Alli’s a whirl and see what I think.
I am going to make your dish many times!
Then I’ll consider this a win for me too–if I can introduce just one more soul to the joys of RGTP, I have succeeded.
OMGOMGOMG – I will be trying both of these recipes immediately!
The best part is that they’re cheap, easy, and healthy!
we made the pasta dish for dinner and it was a big hit! we did take the extra step and made a basalmic glaze and it really gave it a nice sweetness. we also toasted some pine nuts and threw those in too.
I am honored! Thank you B-Side & friends. Rachwho, your recipe looks delicious. Definitely going to try it!