Aug 19, 2009
Heirloom your life.
I’ve never been one for antiquities, but with heirloom tomatoes, I can make an exception. This week I’ve been trying to come up with as many ways as possible to eat tomatoes without cooking or otherwise covering up the flavor. After all, once they are gone for the season, it’s back to the flavorless mush they sell at the grocery store.
Last week, it was no-cook tomato sauce, which was a huge hit. I did it something like this:
No-Cook Tomato Sauce
Dice or quarter a few tomatoes and place in a large bowl. The tomatoes are preferably at room temperature as the refrigerator can make them mealy. Add chopped basil and minced garlic to the bowl and throw in some kosher salt and pepper. Maybe even some red pepper flakes if you’re into that. Add some good olive oil, maybe a fourth of a cup and combine.
Let the mixture sit covered and unrefrigerated for 30 minutes or more (more is better!) Bring water to a boil and add a pinch of kosher salt just before throwing the noodles in, so its salty like the sea.
Drain the pasta, saving a little of the water just in case. Put the noodles back in the pot, and add the tomato mixture. Let it sit for a minute or two and serve.
To garnish, I added some toasted pine nuts as well, as well as some fresh grated parmesan.
Something is fishy in Portland
Today, the cupboards were almost bare, with the exception of the tomatoes. This calls for fish sauce. What is fish sauce? It’s better not to ask, but if you must know, wikipedia has your answer. If you don’t have this in your kitchen, you are missing out.
Dice up some tomatoes and throw in the fish sauce, a little salt and pepper, and I was in heaven. Try, you’ll see.
I will be trying this, thanks. Tomatoes just getting ripe