Ina Garten's Melting Tomatoes Will Make Almost Any Fish Taste Better - Tasting Table

Cherry tomatoes can be cooked to a tender, melt-in-mouth texture by using a high-heat “melting” style method that softens vegetables and lets them absorb flavorful liquid. Ina Garten’s salmon preparation pairs seared, oven-finished salmon with a tomato topping made by sautéing garlic and onions, adding halved cherry tomatoes, and letting the mixture break down in the pan. Fresh basil and balsamic vinegar finish the sauce, creating sweet-tart brightness that complements salmon without overpowering it. The soft, saucy tomatoes are spooned over flaky salmon for a comforting, repeatable meal, and the topping can be used with other mild fish such as haddock, halibut, or cod.

"Marrying fish with vegetables can be a delicate operation, as some veggies are too assertive and easily overwhelm the seafood. A great option to fall back on are delicate, juicy tomatoes, and one of the best ways to prepare them comes from culinary icon Ina Garten. Her recipe for salmon and melting cherry tomatoes is so good, you'll want to steal the tomato topping and use it on every fish you can find."

"Originating with classic French fondant potatoes (aka melting potatoes), the "melting" method makes any vegetable deliciously tender by cooking it under high heat, then adding a flavorful liquid to the pan. The veggies soak up the liquid and turn into a flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece. Garten gets creative by replacing the traditional root or cruciferous veggies with tender tomatoes, whose sweet-tartness complements and brightens seared salmon filets without competing with them."

"For the topping, she sautes garlic and onions, adds halved cherry tomatoes, and lets the mixture break down in the pan before finishing with fresh basil and balsamic vinegar. It's not a traditional "melting" method, but it ensures the small, fragile fruits don't disintegrate. Spoon the meltingly soft, saucy, and flavorful tomatoes over the flaky, browned salmon, and you have one of Garten's best comfort food recipes."

"If you shy away from stronger-tasting fish like salmon, mild white fish like haddock, halibut, or cod all pair swimmingly with tomatoes and basil (no pun intended). To take another page from everyone's favorite cooking maven, Garten recommends center-cut filets fo"

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