Paint the World Red with La Tomatina Festival

The great cultural extravaganza Spanish food fight festival, La Tomatina is here. Hope you enjoyed my last year’s tomato and meat recipe, Meatballs with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce. The fest gets popular from year to year with the streets of Bunol running blood red with juicy tomato. The festival is welcomed by singing, dancing, parades, fireworks etc.

The festival is complete fun but let's adhere to the rules as well. Just have a look:-

-Bring your goggles to avoid acidic tomato pulp going into the eyes

-Squish tomatoes before throwing on one another such that it does not hurt anyone

-Avoid bottles and other sharp objects

-Girls must wear bikini underneath clothes

-Wear tight and strong shoes.

Let's add some more spice to La Tomatina with Spicy Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:-

1 Clove Garlic,

Salt as required,

6 oz. fresh Tortellini,

1 quart Chicken Broth,

8 leaves chopped Basil,

1 chopped Green Chilly,

10 oz. chopped Spinach,

Black Pepper as required,

2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter,

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano,

14 oz. canned diced fire Roasted Tomatoes with liquid.

Preparation Method:-

1. Melt butter in a saucepan. Put over medium-high heat. Add garlic, chillies and saute until fragrant. This takes two minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
2. Now add tortellini and cook halfway for two minutes. Add canned tomatoes and their liquid. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook until the tortellini is soft.
3. Stir fry spinach and basil in butter for five minutes on simmer. Add this and cheese in soup and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Serve hot! I love pairing the soup with cheese and garlic bread. What do you pair it with?

Enjoy La Tomatina!

La Tomatina Festival

La Tomatina is held each year in Spain in the month of August. This food fight festival includes people throwing more than a hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes at each other. People participate in the paella cooking competition, a night before the tomato fight. The first event of La Tomatina first begins at 11:00 am. The festival is accompanied by music, dance, parades and lots of fireworks. Hope you liked my recipe, Spanish omelette. So let's prepare a recipe rich in tomatoes to celebrate La Tomatina to the fullest. Meatballs with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce can be prepared in 30 minutes and forms a great appetizer(dry) or main course (gravy). The main course can be served with spaghetti or rice. 

Meatballs with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

For Meatballs:-

1/4 cup unseasoned Dry bread crumbs,

500 grams ground Beef,

1/2 teaspoon Garlic salt,

4 medium Green onions,

1/4 teaspoon Pepper,

1 egg.

For the Tomato Sauce:-

1/2 cup Water,

2 tablespoons Wine vinegar,

3/4 cup chopped dried Cherries,

1 Handful chopped fresh Chives,

25.5 oz fire roasted Tomato pasta sauce.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 D. F. Mix meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into 25 (1 1/2 Inches) meatballs. Place on an ungreased pan.

2. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. You can check this with the help of tooth-prick, the meat must not stick to it.

3. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat all sauce ingredients except chives. Boil it, stir occasionally. Reduce the heat. Stir in meatballs. Sprinkle with chives. Serve hot!

Enjoy La Tomatina Festival!