can you guess what the topping is?

Back in late summer, when the Farmer’s Market was fairly bursting with fresh tomatoes, I had the “good” idea to freeze a few of them for use during the winter. This was actually pretty easy to do: I scored the tomatoes at the top and dunked them in boiling water for about a minute each, and then removed them and the peels came right off. The tomatoes went into the freezer on an aluminum pan first, and when they had hardened I put them into a plastic bag to store (this may seem like an unnecessary double step, but it’s important because if you just throw the tomatoes into a bag they will all stick together in one big lump; doing them in two steps avoids this problem — look up IQF if you really care¹). Later that day, my roommate came in and asked me if those were, in fact, tomatoes in the freezer. I said they were. He asked why. “Um, er… you can’t get really good fresh tomatoes during the winter,” I said. “Okay…” was his reply. Anyway, I had them in the freezer and I completely forgot about them.

Then one February day I was trying to decide what to make for lunch and I remembered the tomatoes. That’s when things got really weird.

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Here’s a quick and easy recipe that’s perfect for late summer. I started with a disposable aluminum pie pan, and poured a little olive oil on the bottom. Then I arranged slices of roma tomatoes in a circle around the pan, with two small pieces in the center. I drizzled some more olive oil on top, then seasoned liberally with salt and pepper. I also added a little sugar. Then I baked it in a 400 degree oven for about half an hour, until the tomatoes started to darken around their edges. I topped the whole thing off with panko breadcrumbs, grated pecorino romano cheese, and some more olive oil, and then put it back in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the breadcrumbs got brown. I let it cool for a few minutes and then garnished with some fresh parsley. The tomatoes were nice and soft, and their sweetness got concentrated. It all matched perfectly with the salty crunchy breadcrumb topping. Great tomatoes will only be around for a little while longer, so use them while we’ve got them.

I know that conventional wisodm says that you shouldn’t cook a perfectly ripe tomato, but I couldn’t resist. I wanted to make a light, simple pasta dish for lunch, and I had some perfectly ripe roma tomatoes from the market, and this is what I came up with.

While the pasta boils, saute some thinly sliced onions and chiles with some salt and pepper in olive oil. Whent hey are nice and soft, add some fresh tomatoes, chopped into pieces abut an inch long. Add some salt to help them break down, and reduce the heat to low. When the tomatoes are warmed through, turn up the heat, add some fresh oregano and the juice of one lemon. As the lemon juice evaporates, add some of the pasta cooking water and reduce the heat again. Add a little bit of butter to up the savoriness of the dish.

When the pasta is just about cooked drain it and add it to the tomatoes. Cook for another minute together, add a little more olive oil, and serve. Garnish with some more fresh oregano. The lemon juice disappears while enhancing the sweetness and acidity of the tomatoes, and the butter helps the sauce to coat the pasta nicely. Simple and delicious.

I’m not usually a fan of composed salads, but the other day I was looking for something to make and I realized that I had three major ingredients that were vaguely cylindrical in shape: eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, and scamorza cheese (a smoked mozzarella with some butter at the center). I originally planned on stacking them, but as you can see they fell over while I was constructing it. I figured that I wouldn’t force it, and anyway it looks good the way it turned out.

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Although I’m a big fan of so-called molecular gastronomy and other highly skilled cooking methods, there’s something wonderful about cooking at its most simple. Looking at the photo above, you can tell exactly what’s in the dish — pasta, tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and parmesan cheese (maybe you can’t see the salt and pepper). I considered adding a splash of fresh lemon juice, but I thought I’d stick to the basics. Of course, when you use so few ingredients it helps if you use the best quality you can find — the tomatoes and basil were from the Farmer’s Market, and used the same day I purchased them. The olive oil is extra virgin, and the parmesan is the real thing. When everything is so fresh and basic, the true flavors of the food have the opportunity to shine.

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Unsurprisingly, the paranoia over the salmonella outbreak in tomatoes has reached the Prospect Park Farmer’s Market. The same thing happened a couple of years ago with the E. Coli spinach scare. At that time I bought the spinach, and this weekend I bought the tomatoes.

What can you do with tomatoes?

Posted by Howard