Quick Curry Tomatoes

This is one of my favorite recipes to make for a few reasons. I almost always have the ingredients on hand and it's flavorful without masking the flavor of the tomatoes. Finally, it is easy to multiply the recipe and reheats great for work lunches.

Ingredients;
2C rice
1T butter (can substitute olive oil)
2 cloves garlic
Small onion, chopped, about 1 cup
2 large tomatoes (can substitute 6 romas or 16 oz. can diced tomatoes)
1T curry
1/8 C brown sugar
Black pepper
1/4 C heavy cream or half-and-half (optional)

Instructions;
1. Gather up all your ingredients (photo #1). This cooks up pretty fast, so you don't want to have to wander away to find something you need. As you can see in the photo, my onions are already chopped and frozen to save time. But chopping a fresh onion doesn't take much time.

2. Start cooking rice. I have a rice maker I use, but you can also make it on the stove top. The goal is to have it done just as the tomatoes finish cooking. If it gets done a bit early, just remove it from the heat and cover.

3. Warm butter in a medium-size pan. When melted, add onion and garlic. Sauté over a medium heat, stirring occasionally.

4. While the garlic and onions are sautéing, prep the tomatoes. I quarter them, and remove the very center core (photo #2). You can remove the seeds or not. If you leave them in, the final product will not be as thick. Next, dice the tomatoes, leaving the pieces fairly large.

5. Just as the onions start to turn translucent (photo #3), add the tomatoes. If you are not done dicing, that is okay. You can add them as you get them done without any problems. Cook this mixture until the tomatoes are a bit soft, but not mushy. This will take about 3-5 minutes.

6. Now you are ready for spice! Stir in the brown sugar and ½ T of the curry (photo #4). Let that cook for about a minute, then stir in cream, if desired. At this point, taste it. If you want, add the rest of the curry and pepper to taste. Adding dairy will mellow the flavors a bit, so tasting is the best way to make sure this isn't overpowering or bland.

7. Scoop out rice onto dish, topping with curried tomatoes. Photo #5 shows a detail of the delicious final product.

Alternate serving ideas;
- Serve over whole grain pasta, toast or biscuts.
- Mix with diced or shredded chicken and serve in a pita with a touch of goat cheese or plain yogurt.

Thanks Katharine, and good luck! Readers, give Katharine a thumbs up if you like this recipe!