In conversation with Author & Photographer Joe Woodhouse

We’re absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Author of Your Daily Veg & food photographer Joe Woodhouse this British tomato fortnight, to bring you some inspiring recipes to make at home for you and your family.

Joe’s recipes are all about celebrating every day vegetables in a fresh and modern way. Joe embraces seasonality and encourages you to experiment with your cooking, who knows, you might just create something extraordinary!

We sat down with Joe to get to know him a little better, here’s what he had to say.

Embracing seasonality is at the heart of delicious cooking, what does seasonality mean to you?

Excitement. I really enjoy the different produce that is available seasonally. When something comes into season that you haven’t seen for a while it is such a pleasure to cook with it again. All the memories that are associated with the tastes and cooking of specific foods. It is so much more exciting and an engaged way of eating and feeding yourself. To move with the seasons and eat produce when it is at its peak. Well that is living in my book.

Your book focuses on simple, hearty recipes which are both delicious and nutritional, do you have a favourite recipe where the tomato is the hero ingredient?

Any recipe with tomatoes as the main component is a win in my book. I just love them. You can do nothing to them and they are great. Or you can cook with them and they are still great. But picking one for the questions sake it would have to be the tomato salad based on a dish I had in Tel Aviv at a restaurant called M25. There is a base of whipped tahini sauce. Then tomatoes mixed with basil piled on top. It is then crowned with a large amount of garlic that has been rubbed to a paste. It is creamy, sweet and sharp with a wicked kick of garlic. I just thought it was such an interesting take on a tomato salad. Well worth a try. Especially to go with something from the grill or BBQ.

There are so many beautiful varieties of tomatoes, do you have a favourite?

I like all tomatoes really. There is a place for every shape and size. Snacking on baby plum or cherry tomatoes while cooking is always a good idea. But if I had to pick it would be the larger varieties like Brandywines or Black Krim. I love having thick slices on toast with butter or oil for breakfast. Or roughly cutting them into chunks for salads. So juicy and full of flavour. Pretty much have a side of tomato salad at every meal when they are in season. 

Do you have a nostalgic food memory which reminds you of your childhood?

Plum tomatoes on buttered toast. It feels like such a breakfast from the past. But I love it, still have it now and have introduced my son to the delights of getting your tomato fix. It is a great breakfast to have in the winter when tomatoes are scarce. Warming the tin of tomatoes in a pan. Generously muttering toast and spooning the tomatoes over with the juice. Just brilliant. I don’t know if other people do this. We had it as kids. So did my old boss. If you haven’t had it you should definitely try. It lifts the spirits in the winter months.

What are three things you can’t live without in the kitchen?

A good sharp knife. That is about 99% of it for me. Keep your knife sharp and the world is yours. On from that is a sturdy box grater and a zesting grater. Just to make life easier and for finishing dishes. A set of good tongs is a solid bet as well. I guess I use a thermometer more these days. Really useful for baking bread and checking internal temperatures of food that you are cooking. Takes the guess work out of the equation. But most importantly get a decent knife that you can afford and treat it well. It will repay you over and over again.

As summer approaches, what are you most looking forward to eating on a summer evening outdoors?

I love chilled puréed soups. Really refreshing and light in the warmer months. I love the sensation of feeling your blood chill when eating on really hot days. But also lots of BBQing. Lots of grilled vegetables with sauces or dressings. Turkish grilled vegetable salad is a great one to cook on a BBQ. Lots of different salads either grilled or raw, crunchy and fresh. Preferably a mix at the same time. When it is too hot to cook it is lovely just to get really great produce and not do too much to it.

This year, we’re celebrating Toms in Ten recipes, what’s your go to, for a quick working lunch or snack for your child?

My halloumi and tomato salad recipe can be squeezed into 10 minutes if you get not too rubbery halloumi and skip the soaking step. But to be honest getting really ripe juicy tomatoes and cutting them into large chunks. Adding a bit of sea salt and a splash of vinegar. Maybe some soft herbs. Extra virgin olive oil. Finely sliced spring or red onion. And sitting down to that a plate with some crusty bread to mop up the juices. That is a death row dish for me right there. Or equally making that into a sandwich with a basil mayonnaise. Really juicy, refreshing and super satisfying. Wonderfully messy eating.

Keep an eye out for Joe’s recipes in the coming weeks to celebrating British tomato fortnight.