Dining with His Majesty, the Tomato
For gourmets and people who enjoy fine dining, the tomato lends itself to be eaten in many different ways and on many different occasions.
Here below, in order to illustrate this point we have prepared an entire, easily prepared meal in which the Tomato is the star turn.
Panzanella
Ingredients for 4 people:
400 g stale Tuscan bread
4 medium sized ripe salad tomatoes
1 medium sized red onion
1 cucumber
basil
extra-virgin olive oil, salt and vinegar
Cut the bread and soak it in cold water for 15 minutes. Once it is soft, squeeze out the water and crumble the bread into a salad bowl adding all the thinly sliced vegetables and the basil leaves in the desired quantity. Add oil, salt and pepper, mix all together and leave in the fridge until needed. Just before serving add some vinegar.
Pappa col pomodoro (a very tasty tomato mush!)
Ingredients for 6 people:
800 g fresh, ripe tomatoes
500 slightly stale home made bread
1 medium sized leek
8 basil leaves
pinch of ginger
1 teaspoon of tomato concentrate
1 ½ litres of broth
1 glass extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Lightly fry the chopped leek and ginger in the oil, add the tomato purée and then the fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped and the chopped basil leaves. Bring to the boil and after 5 minutes add the hot broth. Salt and pepper. When boiling starts again add the bread cut into thin slices. Cook for about 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover and put aside for an hour. Before serving mix well and add a trickle of olive oil.
Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients for 4/6 people:
6 large green tomatoes
125 g white flour
4 eggs
90 ml of beer
300 g breadcrumbs
500 ml olive oil for frying
Salt
Place in three different bowls the flour, the eggs beaten with the beer, the breadcrumbs. Cut the tomatoes previously washed and dried in slices about 1cm thick. Pass them in the flour, then the egg mixture and finally the breadcrumbs. Fry 4or 5 slices at a time in the hot oil for about 10 minutes. Remove eventual residual bits from the oil between batches. Leave to drain on absorbent kitchen paper and salt. Serve hot.
Tomatoes au gratin in the Neapolitan style
Ingredients for 4 people:
4 large tomatoes
1,5 dl extra virgin olive oil
3 spoons breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove
80g capers
salt
parsley, marjoram
Wash and dry the tomatoes, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds, salt and upside down leave them to drain for 30 minutes. In a bowl mix up the oil, the breadcrumbs, the capers, parsley and garlic finely chopped with the ‘half-moon’ knife. Add the marjoram and lightly salt the mix. Fill the half tomatoes with the mix and place in an oven proof dish lightly greased with the oil and some water. Dribble some oil on each tomato half. Cook in a pre-heated oven for about half an hour. Serve hot or warm.
Caprese Tomato Salad
Ingredients for 4 people:
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 ‘fior de latte’ mozzarella cheese
100g salted anchovies
black olives
extra virgin olive oil
salt, marjoram
Wash and dry the tomatoes, slice and place on a serving dish alternating them with the sliced mozzarella and the de-salted, boneless and chopped anchovies. Season with oil, salt and marjoram. Garnish the dish with olives.
Green tomato jam
Ingredients for 4 people:
1 kg green tomatoes
800 g sugar
1 lemon
Wash and dry the tomatoes, remove he seeds and chop into small pieces. Place in a pan and add the sugar mixing well. Leave to macerate for 24 hours. Add the filtered lemon juice, cook gently for about 40 minutes until the jam is ready. Place in jars, leave to cool and then close the jars. Leave for at least 90 days before using. Consume within 18 months. With this jam you can prepare tasty pieces of toast or small sandwiches.