Pomme d’amour!(Love Apple) Pomodoro!(Golden Apple) Der Paradeiser!(Apple of Paradise). How the heck the English end up with TOMATO? I suppose I should be grateful I’m not a Latin-speaker because I’d have to call it “lycopersicum” which translates to “wolf peach”. Not even going to touch that…
I have been carrying on an illicit love affair with this vegetable. And yes, I’m going to call it a
vegetable because, while scientifically a fruit, it’s always sold in the veggie section of stores. I eat anywhere from four to fourteen tomatoes a week in sliced, sauced, diced, cubed, crushed, mushed and even whole form. I put tomatoes in my pot roast gravy, on every sandwich, in scrambled eggs, in the pot with couscous and rice, on English muffins, in salads, and atop fresh mozzarella swimming in sweet aged balsamic vinegar. I suffer through the not-so-tasty tomatoes of winter in order to remain faithful to my true lover – the farmer’s market heirloom tomato of May, June, July and August (at least where I live). I place chilled tomato slices over my closed eyes to fight the signs of aging (oh yes – Vitamin C, cooling inflammation reduction, anti-oxidants…but do NOT open your eyes) and have even been bathed in some spaghetti-sauce like tomato concoction at a spa. OH! And I grow them. Every year.
Have I convinced you that I am a fan of the tomato? If not, you may leave the blog now. The states a bit further South from mine are finally warm enough to be producing some PERFECT, red, juicy, flavorful tomatoes which have made their way to my grocery store shelves. In fact, this week, my local haunt had so many tomatoes they wrapped them in cellophane and sold them at a discount in packs of eight! I’m normally not a bulk veggie-buyer, but these bad boys were almost crimson, soft (but not too soft!) and smelled like tomato heaven, even through the plastic. I now have eight super-ripe, 4” diameter early summer tomatoes in my kitchen and only a few days to take culinary advantage of them.
As any good Southern gal would do, I had tomato sandwiches for lunch and breakfast today, but after some goading from friends, I decided to do a tomato extravaganza over my next few posts. We’ll start today with an amazing Tomato Pie!
Tomato Pie
1 frozen deep-dish pie shell, thawed.
Four medium tomatoes (or about 1 ½ lbs of tomatoes of any size)
1 medium sweet onion
1 zucchini squash (or yellow squash)
1 tbls olive oil
2 tbls fresh oregano, chopped (or basil or thyme)
2 eggs, well-beaten
¾ cup olive oil or canola oil mayonnaise
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3 tbls grated parmesan
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pre-bake the pie shell in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 4-6 cups of water to a rolling boil. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for no more than two minutes.
Immediately, plunge blanched tomatoes in to ice water. The tomato skins will now pull off easily.
Slice tomatoes into approximately 1 ½ inch pieces and place in a strainer over the sink. Salt well.
Slice zucchini and onion and sauté in olive oil over medium heat until softened.
Combine mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, eggs, and ½ of the mozzarella cheese in a small bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble the pie:
Using the remaining ½ cup of shredded mozzarella create a thin layer in the bottom of the pie shell. This will keep the juices from the vegetables from making the crust soggy.
Top the cheese with a layer of onions and zucchini.
Spread ½ of the mayonnaise mixture over the zucchini and onions
Top that layer with ¾ of the tomatoes and cover the tomatoes with the remaining mayonnaise mixture.
Bake the pie on a cookie sheet for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Allow to cool about 5 minutes before serving.
You’ll enjoy eating your tomato pie even more after you learn more about its lead ingredient. Ladies and Germs, my friend, the Tomato:
1. Don’t put them in the refrigerator! Store tomatoes in a dry, sunny spot or the flavor will be cut in half.
2. If you find your tomatoes rot too quickly on that windowsill try this trick: Line that windowsill with 2-3 pieces of plain copier paper and store the tomatoes stem side down. If the paper starts looking ragged from moisture, replace. This will assure that your tomatoes sit on a dry surface and placing them stem-side down protects the most vulnerable part of the fruit – the part where the stem and the tomato meet.
3. Tomatoes are an uber-health food thanks to their high Vitamin C and Vitamin K content and to that great little antioxidant, lycopene. Tomatoes can be real health powerhouses paired with other veggies too:
a. Tomato + Avocado + Dark Greens (spinach or other dark leaves) = Cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease fighter! In fact, I’ve always advised adding either avocado or olive oil to all veggies because the healthy fats help the body better absorb Vitamins A, D,E, and K. This is an especially great combo for women – you’ll absorb tons of awesome vitamins and minerals known not only for their disease-fighting abilities, but also for building strong, healthy bones and reducing the inflammation associated with – er- monthly drama.
b. Tomato + Lime + Cilantro = SALSA! Tomatoes and citrus fruits are great sources of vitamin C which is helpful for alertness, immunity and a host of other healthy processes. Add in the cilantro, which is like really flavorful lettuce and your salsa is complete. But wait! Cilantro and that jalapeno pepper you’re itching to include have significant antimicrobial properties. Just one of the reasons people with colds crave spicy foods!
c. Tomato + Onion + Cucumber + Broccoli = preventive medicine and a great Mediterranean salad. Add balsamic vinegar and olive oil to sliced tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and broccoli and top with dill and mint. You’ve got a huge concentration of cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, Vitamins A, C, K and even some of the plant sterols that can improve your good cholesterol. Nom, nom, nom!
d. Want to up your lycopene intake? The reddest of the reds is your best bet. Lycopene is one of the chemicals in a tomato that gives it a rich red color. The darkest red (without being rotten!) tomatoes will give you the best dose, but sources like tomato sauce, tomato paste and ketchup are even better per serving. One caveat: Go organic with these prepared tomato products (or make yourself) because the sauces and toppings with fewer processing steps retain more lycopene per serving.
4. Yep, it’s true that some cultures thought tomatoes were poisonous at first. In fact, there’s some archeological evidence that a certain, unnamed civilization actually dipped the points of spears in tomato juice prior to war…amazingly the acids in the tomato may have actually helped clean the wounds…
5. Take a moment, close your eyes, and guess what part of the world is the original home of tomatoes? Europe? The Middle East? Central America? Southeast Asia? The Western American Coast?...................................................................................... Well historians are divided but most agree that tomatoes came from somewhere along the West Coast of Central and South America, perhaps ranging up into modern-day California. Whatever the truth, these pretty guys are native sons!
