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" We give the lowdown on how to keep tomatoes fresh, full of flavour and tips on how to grown your own. Plus we reveal the best dishes to throw them into. Our tomato recipes couldn&amp;#039;t get any tastier! Ripe, juice and flavoursome, the humble tomato can be picked straight from the vine to add a wonderful depth of flavour to an endless array of fresh, summery dishes. From seasonal soups to sumptuous salads, tomatoes are incredibly versatile and work well with almost any starter or main dish. Whether you want to eat them raw or cook slowly to infuse their delicate aromas into meats, fishes or hearty vegetables, tomatoes are a key flavour found in many delicious recipes. Bulbous, squishy and usually with a deep scarlet hue, tomatoes add vibrant colour as well as sweet, fragrant flavours to a host of delectable dishes. Ranging in size, shape and colour, tomatoes are available in so many different varieties. Choose from vine cherry tomatoes, oval-shaped plums, giant beef tomatoes (which are great for stuffing) or even a range of yellow, black and striped tomatoes \u2013 these add a gorgeous palette of colour to bright, summer salads. What to look out for Choosing the right type of tomato will depend entirely on the dish you&amp;#039;re creating. Chunky beef tomatoes are great for stuffing with couscous or rice. Sweet, succulent cherry tomatoes taste divine sprinkled on top of toasted bruschetta or in a salad drizzled with a rich extra-virgin olive oil, and sun-dried tomatoes are perfect scattered atop crispy pizzas. Make sure that when picking your tomatoes, they are soft and juicy. These will ensure the most fragrant of flavours. Tinned tomatoes are widely available in supermarkets and are great for adding to stews or pasta dishes, but a tip to bear in mind when choosing your tins: make sure that you opt for good-quality Italian tomatoes. Italian tomatoes usually have a stronger depth of flavour, as when kept in warmer, sunnier conditions the tomatoes have ample time to ripen and develop in taste. How to store Avoid storing fresh tomatoes in the fridge as this will affect the flavour. Ideally, they need to be kept at room temperature, preferably on a sunny windowsill for an hour before eating, to ensure you get the most intense flavour. If you have a glut of ripe tomatoes that need using up, try making a tomato chutney or homemade tomato sauce. Tomato sauces for pasta or stews are so easy to rustle up and they can be frozen in batches too, to use at a later date. How to grow tomatoes from a pot Growing tomatoes yourself is not actually as hard as you might think, even if you don&amp;#039;t have much outdoor space. All you need is a sunny window, glass patio door or small outdoor area (remember tomatoes need at least eight hours of sunlight to produce any fruit and to develop a distinctive flavour) and a soil-filled pot or growing bag. You&amp;#039;ll need a bamboo cane placed vertically into the seeded soil so the vines can grow in an upwards motion. How to grow tomatoes indoors 1. Sow tomato seeds \u00BC inch deep in 6 inch pots. Keep the soil lightly moist and in a warm spot to germinate. A sunny windowsill or patio door is perfect. 2. After about ten days, germination should start to occur. If not already in a sunny spot, move the pots to a brightly lit area (ideally a window) and make sure it isn&amp;#039;t too draughty. The temperature indoors should be around 65 degrees F (18\u00B0C). 3. Tomatoes will start to flower in warm conditions so if its summer and you have an outdoor space, move directly into the sunlight to encourage growth. Transfer to larger pots when the seedlings are around 3 inches tall, and start to fertilise every two weeks. Just a few of our favourite tomato recipes:Tomatoes on toast with grilled mackerelTomato tarte tatinSweet and tasty tomato soup "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.prima.co.uk/all-recipes/quick-recipes/a32721/growing-tomatoes-tomato-recipes/>