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Tomatoes make for vine dining
Whether beef, cherry or plum, the tomato is a surprisingly versatile fruit and may even help prevent cancer, writes Clare Latimer
TOMATOES come in all sizes, shapes and colours. There is even one called Jack Hawkins, and for those of you old enough, it is not named after the famous film star, so just a strange coincidence.
Many cheap imported tomatoes are picked unripe and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas and therefore have no “sunshine” flavour.
When buying them, avoid the ones in plastic containers and look for ones that are deep red, heavy and still on the vine. If grown well, they are full of goodness including a generous amount of vitamin C. They also contain antioxidant lycopene, which is supposed to reduce the risk of cancer.
Why not grow your own to cook with?
Tomato and courgette tart
Great supper dish. If you have courgettes and leeks in the garden, here’s an opportunity to use them.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
250g ready made short crust pastry
Small handful parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped finely
2 courgettes, top and tailed and sliced
1 leek, washed and sliced
300g ripe tomatoes, 100g gruyere cheese, grated
Small handful of fresh oregano leaves
3 free range eggs
200ml crème fraiche
150ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g parmesan, freshly grated.
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a floured board with the parsley sprinkled over the surface to fit a 20cm quiche dish. Let the pastry hang over the edge of the dish and then trim with a sharp knife.
Boil a full kettle of water. Spear each tomato with a sharp knife and place in a bowl. Pour over the boiling water and then when the skin stretches from the spear mark, drain and rinse in cold water (about half a minute). Peel off the skins with your hands and then slice the tomatoes.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan; add the onion and gently sauté for about three minutes. Add the courgette and leeks and continue to sauté for a further three minutes stirring occasionally to prevent browning.
Cool slightly and then spoon out into the pastry case and spread evenly along with the tomato slices, gruyere and the oregano leaves.
Put the eggs, crème fraiche and milk in a bowl and whisk well. Season, and then add half the parmesan. Pour this mixture into the pastry case with the vegetables and sprinkle over the rest of the parmesan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden and firm to touch. Serve warm.
Oven dried tomato risotto
If you remember, it is good to use vegetable water but so often I drain a saucepan forgetting that it is good to keep some in the fridge. Serve with a crispy green salad and perhaps some garlic bread.
Serves 4
250g good ripe cherry tomatoes – best still on the vine
Sprig of fresh thyme, stripped of the stalk
1 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and chopped finely
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
175g arborio risotto
rice
400 ml vegetable stock or water
75g fresh rocket leaves
2 sprigs basil, leaves only and roughly chopped
50g parmesan, freshly grated
50g mascarpone
Method
Preheat the oven to 110C / 225F / gas ¼.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and put on an oven tray sliced sides up.
Sprinkle with the thyme and some of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven for one hour.
To make the risotto, put the onion and garlic into a frying pan with the rest of the olive oil and cook gently for about three minutes or until they are soft.
Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil for one minute.
Gradually add the stock or water and then simmer the rice or as long as stated on the packet, normally about twenty minutes. Add the stock as you go as it is not drained after cooking.
Remove from the heat when the rice is just soft and stir in the rocket, basil, parmesan and the mascarpone.
Finally add the oven cooked tomatoes and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve immediately with a little olive oil poured on each serving. |
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