Last year roasted tomatoes became one of my favourite tomatoey indulgences. Halved, dusted with salt, brown sugar and a little olive oil; roasted in a low oven for anything up to 2 hours. Roasted Cherry tomatoes proved especially good treated this way.
The other day I decided I couldn’t hold out till my own crop was oven ready so cooked up a supermarket punnet instead. On an oatcake with hummus they were delicious.
But now a flurry of articles on tomato cookery has left me thinking I’m going to have to set my sights a little higher.
First of all it was Gwyneth Paltrow. She was cooking for Stella McCartney; and fashionista ladies whilst always on trend, are not always on time, so maybe it was more a case of keeping it warm in the oven than cooking by design, but roasting tomatoes (Roasted Tomatoes studded with garlic served on spaghetti) for up to 4 hours seemed excessive.
And then there was this lot. I got lost somewhere around ‘ tiny tomato balls made by freezing tomato essence in spherical moulds and dipping them in an agar solution to create a protective skin’. And in case you were wondering – tomato essence doesn’t come in a handy bottle. It comes from blitzing tomatoes in a food processor and extracting clear juice by dripping it through a muslin cloth. I do remember Jamie Oliver doing something similar although he added colour back in courtesy of beetroot slices.
And for those of us who thought we had to wave tomatoes goodbye when we reached pudding – no longer. The dessert ‘farewell’ is now a ‘sweet’ hello.
Axis has a 3 course seasonal tomato menu, the grand finale of which is a Tasting of Tomato Desserts – highlights of which are Tomato Jam, Bloody Mary Granite, Basil Creme Brulee with Candied Tomatoes and Tomato Jelly (yes - with icecream – avocado flavour).
And a few new to me varieties got a name check
- Bull’s Heart – an old Russian variety
- Camone – from Sardinia
- Datterini
- Pachino – from Sicily
Clicking through to the supplier for these tomatoes – in the light of our recent San Marzano woes – I found a picture of them, glistening red, not a leathery patch in sight. However at a price per kg which definitely makes persevering with home grown worthwhile !
The tomato has arrived – I only hope I can keep up with it !
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I made ‘Tomato Butter’ last year, which is basically tomato jam, if you ask me. I gave a jar to a friend who informed me a week later he’d been eating it on toast on a morning instead of marmalade. Other sources say it’s good with cheese or ham, which I have to agree with. I do wonder why we don’t treat tomatoes as other acidic fruits – would a sweetened tomato meringue pie be so unpalatable? Might I suggest a new challenge for Tomato Lover?
Tomato butter – now that’s new to me as well !
I have a quick ‘ google’ and there seem to variations – some which are based on tomato and sugar. Some that involve butter as an ingredient. I’m guessing that in place of marmalade it’s probably the one with just the sugar. I now plan to try some .
But whether that will run to a meringue pie – I don’t know ! Lemon Meringue has to be one of my favourites as of course are tomatoes – but whether that makes them a winner together ! Not so sure !