Recipes: Fondue recipe is great way to use up fresh tomatoes

"When farmer's markets overflow with in-season tomatoes, I love to shop for an assortment. I especially like the quaintly shaped and colored types that have come to be known as "heirloom" tomatoes, lovingly preserved down through the generations by home gardeners. Slice up three or four different kinds, drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, add a sprinkling of sea salt, and you have the perfect seasonal salad.

Let's be honest, though. One of the problems with sun-ripened tomatoes is that when they're in season there are lots of them, and they often ripen beyond the salad stage before you can use them all. Some people become home canners just to preserve the crop. But I like to start thinking about ways to cook those slightly over-the-hill but still perfectly delicious tomatoes.

One of my favorite recipes is the one I share here: Chicken with Tomato Fondue. The word "fon-due," with which you're no doubt familiar from the Swiss cheese dish, simply means something that has "melted." It perfectly describes the way the tomatoes reduce in the oven to form a thick, luscious sauce that bathes the chicken pieces and other summer vegetables."

Includes recipe for:

CHICKEN WITH SUMMER TOMATO FONDUE

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July 19, 2005

Recipes: Fondue recipe is great way to use up fresh tomatoes