t h e p e r f e c t recipe You can never have too many tomatoes 64 www. n A PAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine .com The Adventurous Kitchen by chef ken frank T his time of year, when we are almost buried in great vine-ripened tomatoes, it’s easy to think we might have too many. If real fresh tomatoes were available all year, I might buy that argument. But given that tomatoes in the store in January are essentially beautiful red cardboard, the smart thing to do is preserve some of that fall/summer goodness to enjoy in cold weather. Though for most practical purposes, tomatoes are considered a vegetable, they are really a fruit. Tomato seeds were first taken to Europe from Mexico in the 1500s by returning Spanish explorers. It took a while for them to become popular, but one can’t conceive of Mediterranean cuisine without them today. The two best ways to preserve tomatoes are drying and canning. Oven drying is very simple and requires no special equipment. Cut tomatoes in half, toss with some olive oil and salt, arrange them on a rack and bake them in a 200 degree oven for a few hours until they shrivel up. Let them cool and store them in zipped freezer bags until ready to use. If you carefully dry them all the way with a food dehydrator, you do not need to keep them frozen, but I prefer the non-leathery texture of the frozen ones. If you really want to stock up, you should consider canning. Specialized jars and lids, along with other basic canning supplies, are inexpensive and reusable. You can use either the boiling water method or a pressure cooker. Boiling water is easier but takes longer; pressure cooking is really not difficult and achieves a better result. The basic procedure is the same up until you cook them; refer to procedural details supplied with your canning jars and make sure to follow them closely for safety. The first step is to start with top quality vine-ripened fruit. Three pounds of tomatoes will make about a quart. Score the bottom of the tomatoes with a sharp knife and blanch in boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds to loosen the skins. Immediately shock in ice water and remove the skins. Remove the cores and cut into quarters. Pack the tomatoes and juice into hot, clean jars with a teaspoon of salt, make sure to release any trapped air and leave a scant 1/2 inch of head room at the top. Because they are a fruit and not a vegetable, tomatoes are generally acidic enough to can with a pressure cooker, but you may need to add lemon juice for the water bath method. If you follow the rules, your tomatoes will keep all year until it’s time to can a new season’s bounty. On a cold winter day, home canned tomatoes can become a delicious pasta dinner in under 30 minutes. Bon appétit!
NVLife_SeptOct_2013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above