This summer’s weather report
“On the Northeast, June, July rainy weather and a wet August in combination with humidity.”
(Steak tomato salad with Idiazabal cheese, roasted rainbow carrots and spinach)
Tomatoes, Scientists & Farmers in the spa
The jaccuci like weather conditions are ideal for fungal diseases which have tomato plants dying from the ground up or bacterial spots which makes them die from top down. That is what scientists and farmers alike have been telling us. This season tomatoes are stubornly hard and green. Many large tomatoes have a large whiteish-greenish core in the center (which means the tomatoes grew fast and with (too)much water).
The other side of the fence
So where does that leave us chefs and tomato lovers on the other side of the fence. Don’t you like to cook and eat the vegetables of the moment?
I have suggestions for you if you still want to experience or more importantly enjoy tomatoes. In this way you can mark them off of the summer fruit-check-list (scientifically they are a fruit since tomatoes are the fruits of the tomato plant, but can be used or referred to as vegetables in cooking).
I like caprese salad which is Mozzarella cheese with fresh plum tomatoes and basil. This year the modest tasting Mozarella I switched out for blue cheese (creamier, stronger, salty almost pungent tasting). Seek out small tear drop or cherry tomatoes they have been the most flavorful tomatoes lately.
(small cherry tomatoes, tear drop tomatoes, Romano tomatoes with corn kernels, wild arugula
and Hawaiian lava salt)
Do you remember the 80’s - the rock music, cowboy boots, leather jackets… and an excessively overused salad dressing ingredient - balsamic vinegar. I brought it back recently on a tomato salad. I cooked balsamic vinegar (slowly) to a syrup consistency. It had a tart-sweet taste. It matched the flavor of the vine ripened steak tomatoes in a lovely way that I had picked up at the Farmer’s market.
Another way I used underipe tomatoes is a charred green tomato vinaigrette. Tomatoes which still have a little of the green color (not ripe yet) are actually preferred for this preparation. They have a welcoming texture (more of a mouth feel) in the following preperation.
Charred Tomato Vinaigrette
(recipe yields 1 ½-cup vinaigrette)
2 underipe tomatoes (3-inch diameter)
1 jalapeno pepper
1 garlic clove (peeled then cut in half)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Sea salt (to taste)
Fresh pepper grindings (to taste)
O Cut tomatoes (1-inch thick). Grill cut tomatoes, jalapeno and garlic on a preheated grill on both sides until dark (8-10 minutes, the tomato slices, jalapeno and garlic should be black-charred).
O Put grilled tomatoes, jalapeno and garlic in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic film wrap tightly, then leave grilled tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic steam (10 minutes) in the plastic film covered bowl.
O Peel skin of jalapeno then cut in half. Remove white jalapeno seeds and white jalapeno walls then discard.
O Chop grilled tomato, jalapeno (skinned, no seeds) and garlic (1/8-inch cubes).
O Combine chopped tomato, pepper, garlic with sea salt, fresh pepper, olive oil and vinegar. Stir mixture with a fork to combine (rapidly).
Chef’s Tip: You can add chopped peaches and/or fresh corn kernels for a different version of the above recipe.
The paradox - Heirloom tomatoes (an open pollinated, non-hybride tomato) have often had the best flavor (certainly not the best shape). In the past years. This year I have not had a good Heirloom tomato and in my opinion were not worth the extra dollar or two. When researching Heirloom tomatoes I came about “Mortgage Lifter” tomatoes which are the pink-huge kind they are sweet and tasty in a normal season. Maybe tomatoes just sense the economic down-turn?!
This seasons tomatoes are in “shape” - definetlyl, but the taste still needs a lot of work!!
