Over the years, I’ve made recipes that called for grated tomatoes, but it hasn’t been a serious technique for me…that is until now. It all started in July when I was at my younger daughter Sharon’s house. To occupy myself while she and her father painted the ceilings at her home, I started paging through the stack of Cook’s Illustrated magazines. The summer issue featured the Italian classic Pappa al Pomodora, a savory grated tomato bread pudding as a way to highlight and use up summer tomatoes.

A week or so later, I was reading the New York Times, and there was a fresh tomato and pasta recipe featuring grated tomatoes. Intrigued, I bought some tomatoes, pulled out my box grater, and discovered what an amazing technique grated tomatoes is.

Unlike a carrot, a tomato is soft, so grating it is super easy and fast. And the best thing is that while the grater processes the flesh, it leaves the tomato skin behind! You can grate two pounds of fresh tomatoes faster than you can open a couple of cans of tomatoes. No joke. Here’s how…

The Technique

Start by setting a box grater in a 1- or 2-quart liquid measuring cup, which acts as a two-in-one measuring bowl. Now you’re ready to grate. Simply halve a generous two pounds of tomatoes and start grating. Make sure to grate right up to the skin to get as much pulp as you possibly can. Once you’ve grated all the tomatoes, pick up the skins—you may want to do this in batches—and squeeze all of the juice from the tomatoes into the pulp. That’s it—you’re ready to cook.

For now, we’ve developed three recipes which we will share with you in the coming weeks. All of them call for a generous two pounds of tomatoes. By that I mean three or four ounces over the two pounds. If you grate every bit of the tomatoes and squeeze all of their juice, you should have about 4 cups to make either Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Summer Tomato Bread Pudding, Summer Tomato and White Bean Stew—all dishes that will most definitely become part of my regular summer repertoire, and I’m guessing your too!

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Serves 4 to 6

Don’t worry about cooking the tomatoes to the right consistency. As soon as the pasta is cooked, simply stir in the sauce and continue cooking the two together, stirring in the cheese to form a light, zesty sauce. 

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fine salt 
• 1 pound pasta, your choice
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Generous 2 pounds Grated Tomatoes, (about 4 cups)
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced 
• Pinch hot red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiana Reggiano, plus extra for sprinkling 
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

Bring 2 generous quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to boil in a large pot. Add pasta and, using box instructions as a guide, cook until al dente. Drain and return pasta to the pot. 

While water heats and pasta cooks, heat olive oil over low heat in a large (12-inch) skillet and grate tomatoes, squeezing juice from the skins. Increase heat to medium-high and add garlic and pepper flakes; sauté until garlic starts to turn golden, just a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt; bring to a simmer and continue to simmer to cook down some of the juice, 8 to 10 minutes. Add sauce to pasta and cook over medium-high heat until sauce just starts to cling to the pasta, a minute or two. Stir in cheese and continue to cook until juices form a thin sauce. Stir in basil, and serve, drizzling each portion with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of extra cheese. 

Summer Tomato Bread Pudding
Serves 4

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch hot red pepper flakes
• Generous 2 pounds Grated Tomatoes, about 4 cups
• Salt
• 8 ounces European-style bread, torn into medium pieces, about 4 cups
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• Grated Parmigiana Reggiano for sprinkling

Heat olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in a medium pot over medium-high heat until garlic starts to turn golden, a minute or so. Squeeze tomato juice from the skins and add tomatoes and 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the bread; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer until tomatoes have reduced and absorbed into bread, about 10 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes for bread to continue to absorb juices; sprinkle with basil. Serve, drizzling each portion with olive oil and a sprinkling of cheese. Serve. 

Summer Tomato and White Bean Stew
Serves 4

Serve with some good chewy European-style bread to sop up all those flavorful juices. 

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 4 large garlic cloves
• Pinch hot red pepper flakes 
• Generous 2 pounds Grated Tomatoes, (about 4 cups)
• Salt
• 3 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) white beans, drained (4 generous cups)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta

Heat oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in a large skillet until garlic starts to sizzle and turn golden. Add tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and the beans and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until tomatoes have reduced to a thick stew, about 10 minutes; stir in basil and oregano. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spoon stew into bowls drizzling each with a little extra olive oil and a sprinkling of feta. Serve.