In light of the recent salmonella scare involving tomatoes, I thought it would be a good time to talk about tomatoes. With summer approaching they are coming into season, and I found some beautiful grape tomatoes at the Prospect Park Farmer’s Market. There’s only one problem: I don’t like tomatoes.


I should clarify — I don’t like fresh tomatoes. It’s an embarrassing admission, especially since I like just about every tomato product. Ketchup, tomato sauce, even fresh salsa and tomato bruschetta (not tomato juice, however). I frequently buy whole canned tomatoes, but a slice of fresh tomato with mozzarella is hard for me to swallow.

I don’t know why this should be. Except for being vegetarian, I’m not a particularly picky eater. Something about the “gel” on the interior, combined with the weird taste, really puts me off. Last year I taste-tested an heirloom tomato from the market and had to spit it out.

I recently decided to try to overcome this debilitating problem. I picked up a pint of grape tomatoes at the market, and brought them home to use. I popped one into my mouth, but anticipation of the disgusting pop made me hesitant to bite down. What else could I do with the tomatoes?

So here’s what I did. I split the tomatoes in half length-wise, and seared them briefly in hot olive oil with salt and pepper. I added some roughly chopped dandelion greens, which I seasoned as they wilted in the pan. At the end I added a splash of fresh lemon juice, cooked pasta and a splash of pasta water, some more olive oil, and some parmesan cheese.

The salty acidity of the cooked tomatoes worked well with the aggressive bitterness of the dandelion greens. It was the perfect summer dish, light and flavorful. So even though I didn’t overcome my fear of eating raw tomatoes, I did find that I enjoy cooking with them. I plan to buy some larger tomatoes when they arrive at the market, and I’ll peel and freeze them at home to use in pasta sauces year round. Stay tuned for that process.

Posted by Howard

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