If you needed any more proof that British tomatoes are finally getting the attention they deserve, just look at British Tomato Week, which has evolved this year to become British Tomato Fortnight (which begins on 20 May). That means a whole extra seven days of celebrating delicious British-grown tomatoes. Though the continent still rules the roost when it comes to growth and consumption of tomatoes, British tomatoes are no longer something to be sneered at. As a nation we now grow 92,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes a year, and we eat nearly 500,000 tonnes of fresh tomatoes over the course of twelve months – that’s a number that pales in comparison to the likes of France, Italy and Spain, but still far higher than ever before.
There’s no question that British tomatoes are as good as they’ve ever been – by starting off the plants in the greenhouse to avoid frost damage, then moving them outside for the summer, the British climate can be easily navigated to give you a bumper crop of sweet, juicy tomatoes.
Alongside regular tomatoes, cherry tomatoes are equally easy to grow and provide a burst of sweetness and acidity to all sorts of different dishes. They’re real all-rounders of the tomato world, just as delicious eaten raw in a salad as they are slow-roasted alongside a joint of meat. With the threat of frost now firmly in the rearview mirror, we can all look forward to a few months of delicious cherry tomatoes – here are a few of our favourite recipes.
