Killer Tomatoes
It’s almost impossible to think of Italian cooking without the tomato. It’s the perfect condiment for pasta, the best thing that ever happened to a pizza, the true red of the Italian flag.
There are thousands of treatments for tomatoes, but they are probably at their very best eaten raw, thickly sliced or roughly chunked, dressed with fresh basil, salt, pepper and olive oil. A sprinkle of vinegar will heighten the flavor, though a wonderful summer tomato doesn’t need much enhancement. Soak up the leftover oil and juices in the dish with dense, country-style bread.
Raw tomatoes are also marvelous when roughly chopped and thickly spread on a summery version of Florentine fettunta (garlic bread). Or they can be tossed with chilled spaghetti, olive oil, garlic and herbs.
Cooking tomatoes concentrates flavors. Slice them thick and saute them in olive oil, then pour eggs and chopped basil over the browned tomatoes. Use firm, barely ripe tomatoes or, for a more unusual flavor, green tomatoes. Tomatoes are also good when stuffed with herbs, garlic, rice or fish and baked in the oven.
And few things make a better sauce than fresh tomatoes, whether raw or cooked, green or ripe, a full-flavored balance of sweet and sour.
Height-of-the-season, vine-ripened local tomatoes work best for the following tomato sauce recipes. Extra-virgin olive oil is an essential ingredient in each. Mediocre tomatoes can be enlivened with the addition of a little vinegar and sugar, but first-rate extra-virgin olive oil has a flavor that can’t be faked.
SEEDING AND SKINNING
TOMATOES
Seeding tomatoes is an almost effortless step. Slice them in half and squeeze, like citrus fruit, into a strainer over a bowl to catch any of the precious juice, which can be added back to the sauce or dish. If the peel is too thick or you prefer a more elegant sauce, skin the tomatoes by boiling in water for 10 seconds, draining and slipping off the skins, or peel with a vegetable peeler or a sharp paring knife.
In this sauce, tomatoes are chopped and marinated to form their own straightforward sauce spiked with garlic and herbs. It can be used to dress cold, al dente pasta just before serving, or it can be heated briefly in a large skillet with partially cooked pasta, which absorbs the fresh tomato flavors while cooking a final minute or two. The result is a delicate, fresh-tasting, barely cooked sauce that holds onto pasta. Cheese fans will want to sprinkle their pasta with grated Parmigiano, but tomato purists will probably take their sauce neat.
PASTA WITH RAW OR HALF-COOKED TOMATO SAUCE
1 to 2 cloves garlic
1 pound tomatoes, seeded and peeled if desired, juice reserved
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh parsley, basil or arugula
3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
12 to 16 ounces dried pasta
Finely chop garlic in food processor. Add tomatoes and strained juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil and herbs to taste in processor bowl. Pulse to chop for rustic, chunky sauce, or puree for more elegant texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate at least 10 minutes.
To prepare Pasta With Raw Tomato Sauce, cook pasta al dente in large pan of boiling, salted water. Drain and refresh in cold water. Drain well. Toss pasta with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Chill up to 1 hour. Toss with tomato sauce and serve. This sauce is slippery, hence its name, pasta allo scivolo, “slide pasta.”
To prepare Pasta With Half-Cooked Tomato Sauce, cook pasta a little harder than al dente in large pan of boiling, salted water. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water. Place pasta and sauce in large skillet and stir-fry over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes to complete cooking pasta. Partially cook tomato sauce and integrate pasta and sauce. Add some of reserved pasta water if sauce gets too dry. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
Each serving contains about:
459 calories; 455 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 1.03 grams fiber.
Torquato is my favorite farmer in Florence’s Santo Spirito market. Aside from growing vegetables outside town and selling them in town, he also relates vague but excellent recipes in Tuscan dialect to anyone who has time to listen. His pappa all’acquacotta, an easily prepared Tomato-Garlic Bread Soup, has become a favorite in my home.
Torquato’s recipe combines elements of two traditional Tuscan soups. Pappa al pomodoro is a Florentine bread - and - tomato soup with the consistency of oatmeal. Acquacotta is a specialty of the Maremma, land of the Tuscan cowboy, a mushroom-tomato broth served over toasted country bread, often garnished with an egg that cooks in the heat of the broth.
Torquato’s version combines garlic, basil and peperoncino chile peppers in a simple tomato broth, which is ladled over a slice of toasted bread and drizzled with a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil when served as a light summer soup. Eggs, lightly poached in the tomato broth, placed over the toasted bread and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmigiano cheese, make the dish more substantial.
TOMATO-GARLIC BREAD SOUP
1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
Red pepper flakes
1 pound tomatoes, seeded, peeled (if desired) and chopped, juice reserved
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups water
4 thick slices country-style bread, toasted
1 clove garlic, cut in half
Chopped fresh basil for garnish
4 eggs, optional
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Place garlic in center of cold non-stick skillet and pour 1 teaspoon olive oil over garlic. Place over medium heat and stir to coat garlic with oil. Add pepper flakes to taste and continue to saute. When garlic just begins to brown, add tomatoes, reserved strained tomato juice, salt and water. Simmer 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Rub toast slices with cut garlic clove, which will grate itself onto toast’s hardened surface.
To serve without eggs, place 1 slice toast at bottom of each of 4 soup bowls and ladle tomato broth over toast. Sprinkle with chopped basil and garnish with swirl, or “C” as Tuscans call it, of olive oil.
To serve with eggs, poach eggs in tomato broth and place 1 egg on each piece of toasted garlic bread in soup bowl. Ladle broth over egg, sprinkle with chopped basil and top each with 2 tablespoons grated cheese. Makes 4 servings.
Each serving contains about:
103 calories; 1,316 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.81 gram fiber.
Split tomatoes are grilled in a pan or placed under the broiler, then pureed with parsley and olive oil. The slightly caramelized and emulsified tomato sauce is good with grilled meat, poultry or fish, but it also dresses pasta nicely. This recipe works well with cherry tomatoes.
GRILLED TOMATO SAUCE
1 pound tomatoes, cut in halves and seeded
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh parsley or basil
Place tomato halves, cut-side up, on work surface and lightly sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Place 1/2 teaspoon olive oil in medium non-stick skillet, spreading oil around with paper towel or with fingers.
Turn heat to medium and place tomatoes, cut-side down, in skillet. Cook 3 to 5 minutes per side to caramelize sugar and brown surface of tomatoes. If broiling, place tomatoes, cut-side up, on broiler pan and broil 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove tomatoes from heat and let cool.
Slip skins off and place tomatoes in blender with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and herbs to taste. Puree until desired consistency is reached. Makes 4 servings.
Each serving contains about:
89 calories; 84 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.74 gram fiber.