Dinner duty takes on a whole new meaning during the busy holiday season. In between all the gift shopping and event hopping, you can always make room to squeeze in a hearty home-cooked meal thanks to Hunt’s® Heirloom Tomatoes. These Canadian-grown canned tomatoes are packed with tons of flavour and elevate any meal.
Hunt’s® special heirloom tomato seeds are collected by hand year after year. Once planted, these non-GMO tomatoes are vine-ripened, picked at the peak of freshness and canned within 24 hours. Give your weeknight pasta a glow-up with their beautiful diced, whole or crushed tomatoes. Turn comforting stews into restaurant-quality wonders, bake the lasagna of your dreams and make dinner merry and bright.
If you're stumped on what to whip up, Alida Solomon, beloved Toronto chef-owner of Tutti Matti, which recently celebrated 20 years in business, has shared some of her favourite recipes using Hunt’s® Heirloom Tomatoes below.
“I decided when I opened Tutti Matti that I would only stick to things that were in season, and I was looking for something that would be as flavourful as if I had bought it in the summer,” says Solomon. “When I discovered Hunt’s® Heirloom Tomatoes were vine-ripened and picked at the peak of freshness, I thought somebody invented a product that was made for me personally. They deliver rich, elevated flavour to meals with red and flavourful tomatoes.”
There's nothing better than diving into a fresh-from-the-oven Chicken Parmigiano layered with Hunt’s® Heirloom Crushed Tomatoes, melted mozzarella and topped with a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano and fragrant basil leaves. Or a healthy veggie-forward (make it totally vegetarian by subbing veggie stock for chicken stock) ribollita with Hunt’s® Heirloom Diced to bring brightness to this classic. Don't forget some toasted rustic bread for soaking up all the delicious, hearty goodness.
For over 100 years, Hunt’s® has elevated everyday family meals with rich and satisfying flavours, so you can spend less time prepping and more time savouring.
Check out chef Alida Solomon's comforting recipes below.
Alida Solomon's Old School Chicken Parmigiano
Serves 4
Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour
Ingredients
1 can of Hunt's® Heirloom Crushed
1 bunch fresh basil
4 chicken breasts
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
8 slices of smoked mozzarella
2 cloves of garlic
½ cup light olive oil
Method
In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs together and add a pinch of salt and pepper. On a plate, lay out the Italian breadcrumbs and do the same with a different plate for the flour.
Take the chicken breasts and pat them dry with a paper towel. If the chicken breasts are too thick, cut them in half (length wise), making sure they’re all the same thickness. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
In a deep skillet, add in light olive oil or any neutral oil for frying and heat it slowly. To test if the oil is ready, drop a bit of the egg mixture and if it sizzles right away, it's ready for frying.
Dredge each breast in the flour and tap off excess. Then dip in the egg mixture and let excess drip off, then dredge on both sides in the breadcrumbs.
Shallow fry each chicken breast until golden brown on both sides. Set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate to catch the excess oil. In a small pot, heat up Hunt's® Heirloom Crushed combined with basil and smashed garlic. Let that simmer for 5 minutes.
Place the chicken on a baking sheet or cast-iron skillet. Ladle the Hunt's® Heirloom Crushed tomato sauce over each piece and a generous amount of grated Parmigiano Reggiano over it. Take your slices of smoked mozzarella and layer them on top of each chicken piece.
Turn the oven on and set it to broil. Place the baking sheet with your chicken in the oven for 5 minutes or less. When the cheese has melted, take it out and serve immediately.
Serve Chicken Parmigiano over cooked pasta and top with a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh basil leaves.
Alida Solomon's tagliatelle with sugo bugiardo
Serves 4
Preparation time 15
Cooking time 1 hour
Ingredients
1 lb ground Italian sausage
2 cans Hunt's® Heirloom Crushed
4 carrots, peeled
6 celery stalks
2 red onions, peeled
16 oz fresh pasta
12 garlic cloves, smashed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup white wine
Method
Chop or purée carrot, celery and onion and sauté in a pot with garlic until vegetables are translucent.
Add ground sausage and brown with the veg.
Deglaze with white wine, then add tomato.
Lower heat and simmer stirring occasionally for one hour then serve with cooked pasta.
Alida Solomon's ribollita
Serves 8
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour
Ingredients
1 bunch of Tuscan kale
3 cans Hunt's® Heirloom Diced
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 red onions, diced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
8 cups of chicken stock
2 cans of white beans, drained
Toasted rustic dry bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
Dice the carrots, celery and red onion into 1 cm pieces. Roughly chop the Tuscan kale, removing the stems as you chop.
In a deep pot, add 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the diced carrots, celery and red onions until they start to soften. Smash the garlic and set one clove aside for later. Add the rest of the garlic to the pot and sauté with the rest.
Once the vegetables are softened, add 3 cans of Hunt's® Heirloom Diced Tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring all of it to a boil. Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.
At the 30 minute mark, add the white beans and Tuscan kale. Let the soup simmer for another 30–45 minutes. Slice the bread and rub with raw garlic. Place it in the oven until toasted.
To serve, place the toasted bread at the bottom of the bowl. Ladle the soup on to the toasted bread. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
