Whatever variety of tomato you choose for your culinary creations, make sure it is one that you absolutely love.
Obsession
I don’t know about you, but every year, starting in mid March, I am nearly obsessed with planting, growing and harvesting my favorite tomato to cook with and eat. I dream about a really ripe one sprinkled with salt and eaten like an apple. Favorite recipes turn over in my head as harvest time draws near, and I think how lucky we tomato lovers are.
When Spanish explorers returned from the new world with the tomato, it was looked at with disdain and fear by the citizens of Spain. Because tomatoes belong to the nightshade family, these savory fruits were thought to be poisonous. According to oral history, when the rejected fruit made its way into Italy by way of the Moors, a courageous person stood in the midst of a crowd in the center of an Italian town and devoured a tomato. Amidst the shock, he proved to all it was not poisonous but delicious. That changed the course of culinary history, influencing not just Italian cuisine but other food ways as well. If the Spaniards had the ability to see the future and how the tomato would impact so many foods of the world, they might have looked at their farming and culinary habits differently. Eventually, even the Spaniards added the tomato to their Gazpacho.
Fruit or vegetable?
Though technically a fruit, the tomato is often lumped into the vegetable group.
No matter what the category, tomatoes are included in 90% of homegrown gardens. Even people without land plant them in barrels, oversized flower pots and buckets. More people prefer tomatoes than any other homegrown ingredient. It is so popular, the tomato was designated the official state fruit of Ohio and there are contests at state fairs across the country for the biggest and best.
Growing tomatoes is not difficult when using soil that has been enriched with bone meal for phosphorus, manure for nitrogen, and wood ash for potassium. Composted horse, chicken and rabbit manure were and are highly recommended — unless you have a source for elephant manure, which is considered the best.
Techniques to improve the tomato for size, color, flavor and growth are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. Seed catalogs offer a vast array of varieties. Take your pick from heirloom tomatoes with whimsical names like Mortgage Lifter, tiny cherry and grape tomatoes, or the meatier types like beefsteak. Colors include yellow, gold, purple, red-striped, green-striped, even “black” and “white.” My favorite, the heirloom Heart of an Ox variety, is grown in both Portugal and Italy. Did it migrate from Portugal to Italy or from Italy to Portugal during the Roman occupation? I couldn’t tell you but I am doing my part to see that they flourish here in America.
The versatility and ease of growing is why the tomato resides in 90% of home gardens. The seeds I plant every year are saved from the previous year’s harvest to plant for the following year.
Surprising to many, tomatoes are used in Portuguese savory dishes. Over fifty percent of Portuguese stews and braises incorporate a peeled, seeded, chopped tomato, even a tablespoon of tomato paste. To make the base, called refogado, onions are sautéed in olive oil until translucent or lightly golden, then chopped tomato is added. The mixture is simmered, covered, until the tomato is partially dissolved and married to the onions. A cook will sometimes add a spoon of tomato paste when fresh tomatoes are not available or to add concentrated flavor to the chopped-tomato base.
In addition to meaty stews and braises, the Portuguese use tomatoes in dishes such as simple Tomato Rice (Arroz de Tomate), Chicken Stew (Galinha Estufada), and other aromatically-heady rice and vegetable dishes. Very ripe tomatoes are also used to make Tomato Jam (Doce de Tomate), a delightful cinnamon-and-lemon spiced jam which is enjoyed on toast as well as a filling for cakes and pastry. Whatever variety of tomato you choose for your culinary creations, make sure it is one that you absolutely love.
Sweet Tomato Preserves
Very ripe tomatoes are also used to make this sweet tomato jam, known as Doce de Tomate. This delightful cinnamon-and-lemon-spiced jam is enjoyed on toast and used as a filling for cakes and pastries.
Ingredients
- •.9 kg (2 pounds) very ripe meaty tomatoes
- •200 grams (1 cup) sugar
- •One 8 cm (3-inch) piece cinnamon stick
- •Peel of 1 lemon (yellow skin only)
- •5 ml (1 teaspoon) fine salt
Preparation
Remove the stems from the tomatoes. Using a sharp knife, score a slight cross hatch at the base of the tomatoes. Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove the tomatoes (skin should be starting to separate) and plunge into ice water. Peel off the skins, remove the seeds and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Let the tomatoes sit in a sieve set over a bowl several hours or overnight to drain excess juice.
In a medium saucepan, combine the tomatoes with the sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon peel and salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened and reduced by about two thirds, 45 minutes to one hour. You should be able to see the bottom of the pot when you draw a flat-sided wooden spatula through the jam.
Remove and discard the lemon peel and cinnamon stick. Pack in small jars and store refrigerated, using within 3 weeks.
* The jam will thicken as it cools. Spread on toast, crackers, or use as a filling for cakes.
*This jam can also be canned.
Tomato Rice
Ingredients
- •45 ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil or 2 slices smoked bacon, coarsely chopped
- •1 medium onion, finely chopped
- •2 large very ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 2 cups) or 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- •1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- •473 ml (2 cups) vegetable broth or water 1 teaspoon coarse salt, or to taste
- •210 grams (1 cup) long-grain rice
- •15 ml (1 tablespoon) finely chopped cilantro or parsley
- •6 small black olives for garnish
Preparation
Heat the oil or bacon in a 2.3 liter (2-1/2 quart) saucepan over medium heat. (If using bacon, remove crisp bits after fat is rendered.) Add the onion and sauté until lightly colored. Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the tomatoes and garlic. Cover and cook until the tomatoes are soft and partially dissolved, about 15 minutes. If using tomato paste make sure it is well-blended.
Add the broth or water and bring to a boil. Add the salt and rice, stir and cover. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Stir in the parsley and continue cooking until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 5 to 10 minutes more depending on the variety of rice you use.
Lightly oil and fill a 118 ml (1/2 cup) custard cup firmly, and immediately invert onto serving plates. Remove the cup mold, center a black olive on top of the rice, and serve.
Portuguese Stewed Chicken
Ingredients
- •59 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
- •1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
- •1 large very-ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 1 cup)
- •7.5 ml (1½ teaspoons) paprika
- •2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- •1 bay leaf
- •118 ml (½ cup) white wine
- •1 kg to 1.3 kg (2½ to 3 pounds) skinless chicken legs and thighs
- •300 grams (1½ cups) converted rice or other long grain
- •10 ml (2 teaspoons) coarse salt, or to taste
- •1.25 ml (¼ teaspoon) black pepper, or to taste
- •80 grams (½ cup) fresh or frozen green peas
- •30 ml (2 tablespoons) finely chopped parsley
Preparation
Heat the oil in a 4.7 liter (5-quart) Dutch oven. Add the onions and sauté until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir in tomato, paprika, garlic, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the tomatoes are soft and partially dissolved, about 15 minutes.
Pour in the wine, if using, and simmer for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken and 828 ml (3 1/2 cups) water, or as needed to just cover the chicken. Cover the pot tightly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- 4. Add the rice, salt, and pepper. Stir, cover, and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir in the peas and 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of the parsley. Simmer until the chicken is nearly falling-off-the-bone tender, about 5 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Let the stew rest for 10 minutes before serving. The rice should be tender, and the liquid should be almost absorbed. Garnish with remaining 15 ml (1 tablespoon) parsley, and serve.
