I’ve fallen in with some of the more extreme tomato advocates. In fact, I’m thinking of writing a tomato manifesto to hang on the pantry door. We refuse to settle for pinkish-colored fruits. We refuse to make salsa with anything that doesn’t drip juice. We refuse to refrigerate our beloved heirlooms. We believe in eating slices with nothing but a sprinkle of olive oil and salt. We believe in fresh rather than canned (unless they’re self-canned). We support farmers who know what a ripe tomato looks like.
It’s hard to go back after you’ve met a vine-ripened (or, at least, counter-ripened) tomato. I’ve had a lot of "tomatoes" that just don’t meet my expectations.
"Crunchy" and "grainy" are not good words when describing a Roma. Understandably, one cannot expect a tomato that has traveled across the ocean, picked weeks ahead of its peak, to be at its best performance.
I suggest we call these by some other name so that unsuspecting customers won’t be tricked. The chocolate industry adheres to certain standards for what can be called "chocolate." I’d like to see the same thing happen for tomatoes.
My husband has had some minor success growing tomatoes in our backyard. So far, the bugs have left most alone. He placed a few handfuls on the counter. When I saw our bounty, I happily jumped into a version of tomato cobbler using ratatouille as my guide. I could make this a tradition of late-evening summer meals. Since tomatoes are a fruit, why not use them in a traditional fruit dish? I think it’s just as luscious as dessert.
TOMATO COBBLER
1 recipe cobbler dough (see below)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups zucchini, sliced lengthwise and then into half-moons, 1/2-inch thick
4 cups tomatoes, preferably plum or small (pingpong ball size), sliced in half
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a cast-iron skillet or heavy sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Toss in onion and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until zucchini is golden and onion is just beginning to brown.
Add tomatoes, parsley, garlic, salt, coriander and sugar. Stir and cook 1 minute longer.
In 8-by-8-inch pan or pie plate, turn filling out. Pinch off pingpong ball-size pieces of cobbler dough and dot the top of the tomatoes with the dough. The surface should be nearly covered with the dough.
Bake until topping is cooked and lightly browned and tomatoes are bubbling, about 15 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.
Nutritional information unavailable.
PARMESAN COBBLER DOUGH
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Parmesan, finely grated
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
3 tablespoons plain, whole-fat yogurt
In large bowl, whisk together flour, Parmesan, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper and sugar.
Cut butter into 10 pieces and scatter them over surface of flour. With pastry cutter or two knives, cut butter into flour until it forms into balls smaller than pea size.
In liquid measuring cup, combine buttermilk and yogurt. Evenly pour mixture over flour. Stir dough, folding and turning with rubber spatula. Try to do this lightly, until it seems like the dough will come together.
Bring it together by kneading once or twice. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing the filling.
Nutritional information unavailable.
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Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at www.thelittlefoodie.com.
