For me the most anticipated food of summer is the tomato. While one can buy tomatoes year-round, only the fabulous “heirloom” vine-ripened type is available in the warm days of summer. These tomatoes have become trendy in restaurants and some even declare an “Heirloom Tomato Week,” featuring these delicious fruits/vegetables in everything from salad to dessert. During the colder months we get tomatoes that are harvested prematurely, then gassed to a desired redness (but not ripeness).
Today tomato growers and home gardeners are seeking out tasty old varieties in all shapes, colors and sizes. At farmers markets and even in supermarkets, more and more show up every day. The choices are staggering: tiny Toybox, Yellow Taxi, Marvel Stripe, Black Prince, Lemon Boys, Early Girls, Zebra, Purple Cherokee, Pineapple Stripe and Mortgage Lifter are just a few of the whimsically named varieties.
There’s something for everyone’s taste buds; the yellow and green varieties have less acid and more sugar, the red are more acidic, and the red and yellow striped have a good balance of tart and sweet.
The longstanding debate continues about whether the tomato is a fruit or vegetable. Because it consists of an ovary and seeds, it can be designated a fruit, but because tomatoes are “part of a meal, not dessert,” they are known as a vegetable.
Fruit or vegetable, the heirloom tomato is a sensational summer ingredient. Start off by making a simple tomato sauce. Use it alone with freshly cooked pasta, add it to other sauces and soups, or freeze it for a sprightly taste of summer in the winter. When you bring tomatoes from the market, store at room temperature, blossom end down. Refrigeration ruins the flavor.
Basic Tomato Sauce
Makes about 4 cups
3 Tbs. good olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
5 lbs. tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. honey
1⁄2 tsp. oregano
4 leaves basil, cut into chiffonade
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, heat oil with garlic. Add onions and cook over medium heat until translucent. Stir in tomatoes, honey, oregano and basil. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
Taste for salt and pepper. Let cool and purée in blender or food processor.
Red and Yellow Cherry Tomato Bruschetta
Serves 6
121⁄2-inch slices of good crusty bread
About 2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large cut clove garlic
4 red cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
4 yellow cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
6 basil leaves, chopped
1⁄2 tsp. salt
1⁄2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Brush both sides of bread with olive oil. Grill or broil bread on both sides until it just begins to color. Rub with cut clove of garlic. Combine remaining ingredients and spread on bread. Serve as soon as possible.
Summer Tomato Soup
Serves 6
16 tomatoes, halved and seeded
1⁄4 sweet onion
1 tsp. salt
1⁄2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 Tbs. honey
Juice of 1 lemon
1⁄2 cup unflavored yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1⁄2 cup chopped chives
In bowl of food processor, combine tomatoes, onion, salt, pepper, honey and lemon juice. Process until puréed and add yogurt. Stir in cucumber and chives. Chill and serve.
Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to [email protected].