TOMATO LOVE

 

A small selection from my Tomato photo file!

I love tomatoes. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, on a hot summer’s day, there’s nothing better than a juicy, ripe tomato, sliced, salted lightly, and doused with extra virgin olive oil. As I am reveling in great tomatoes, from the garden and market, I am finding lots of ways to serve them without cooking. Gazpacho, obviously, but here are more possibilities.

Tomato with basil (albahaca) is so good that it’s a cliché. With sliced goat cheese, freshly ground black pepper, flaky salt, and olive oil it is, in my opinion, an ideal breakfast. But raw tomatoes are also complemented by oregano, mint, cilantro, tarragon (estragón), fennel (hinojo), and dill (eneldo). A few drops of vinegar enhance their flavor, but full-on vinaigrette overpowers their sweetness. Which is why I rarely put tomatoes in a mixed lettuce salad. 

Tomatoes stuffed with Russian salad (ensaladilla rusa).

Shrimp cocktail with tomatoes!

A Mediterranean version of succotash with corn, butter beans and tomatoes.

Tomatoes Stuffed with Russian Salad

Tomates Rellenos con Ensaladilla Rusa

For stuffing, choose large, round, firm-ripe tomatoes such as “Beefsteak.” (Want more about Russian Salad, the famous ensaladilla rusa? Check here.)

Makes enough Russian salad to fill 3 large or 4 medium tomatoes. 

Diced potatoes and vegetables for the filling.

3-4 tomatoes

Salt

1 ½ cups cooked potatoes cut in 1/8-inch dice

¼ cup cooked carrot, cut in 1/8-inch dice

2 tablespoons cooked and chopped green beans

1 tablespoon chopped red pimiento from a can

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped chives or parsley + more to garnish

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Salad greens to serve

Scoop out pulp for tomato shell.

Cut the tops off the tomatoes. Scoop out the pulp and seeds, leaving a shell. Salt the insides of the tomato shells and invert them in a colander to drain. Discard seeds and hard core from the pulp. Strain the remaining pulp and save the juice for another use (I'll add the juice to gazpacho tomorrow). Chop the pulp and set aside to use in the stuffing.

Combine the potatoes, carrots, beans, and pimiento in a bowl. Add ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Add the chives and the reserved chopped tomato pulp. In a small bowl mix together the oil, vinegar, and mayonnaise. Fold the dressing into the vegetables. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Before filling the tomato shells, drizzle them with a little oil. Spoon the salad into the tomato shells, mounding it slightly. Garnish them with additional chopped chives. Serve the stuffed tomatoes on a layer of salad greens.

Shrimp Cocktail with Tomato

Salpicón de Gambas con Tomate

A summer twist on shrimp cocktail.

Salpicón is a versatile dish that can be made with any combination of mariscos, shellfish, or with a single one. Besides shrimp, you can add mussels, crab, chopped octopus, scallops, lobster, or even chunks of fish. Salpicón without the tomatoes is a favorite starter for Christmas holiday meals. But I learned to make it in tapa bars where it was made, similarly to pipirrana, with tomatoes and other summer vegetables.

I used very small gambas rojas ("red" shrimp, though they're actually pink), plunged into boiling, salted water, drained, and chilled in ice water before peeling. If using larger shrimp, cut them into approximate ¾-inch pieces. 

Serves 4

1 cup peeled and chopped tomato

½ cup chopped green pepper

3 tablespoons chopped scallions

Jalapeño, minced (optional)

½ cup chopped avocado

1 hard-boiled egg

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

Salt 

¼ cup chopped parsley or cilantro

1 cup cooked and peeled small shrimp

Lettuce leaves to serve

Combine the tomato, green pepper, scallions, jalapeño if using, and avocado in a bowl. Separate the egg yolk from the white. Chop the white and add to the tomatoes.

Mash the yolk in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in the vinegar until mixture is smooth. Slowly whisk in the oil.

Immediately before serving add the parsley or cilantro and shrimp to the tomato mixture. Add the egg yolk dressing, saving a little to spoon over the top of the cocktails. Place lettuce leaves in cocktail cups and divide the shrimp-tomato mixture between them. Drizzle with remaining dressing and a little chopped parsley.

Succotash

Salteado de Maiz y Alubias

For this version of succotash, chopped raw tomatoes are added at the finish.

This is a Mediterranean interpretation of an old-fashioned New England dish of corn and lima beans. I've never found fresh lima beans in Spanish markets. Fava beans, which limas somewhat resemble, are not in season, but canned butter beans are a good substitute. I used fresh sweet corn, stripped off the cobs, but frozen or canned corn kernels are an easy substitute for fresh. Add the chopped tomatoes at the end of the cooking time. The residual heat will draw out the juices of the tomatoes without actually cooking them. I serve succotash as a side dish or, with the addition of smoked ham and a fried egg, a satisfying lunch or supper dish. 

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 ounces chopped bacon 

1 cup chopped green and/or red pepper

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1 ½ cup corn kernels

1 ½ cup drained butter beans

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of oregano or thyme

¼ teaspoon pimentón picante de la Vera (smoked, hot paprika)

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes

Lacón ahumado (smoked ham) (optional)

Salad greens if serving cold

Heat the oil with the bacon in a heavy skillet. When bacon begins to brown, add the peppers, onions, and garlic. Sauté on medium-high until onion is softened, 5 minutes. Add the corn and beans, season with salt, pepper, oregano, pimentón, and vinegar. Cook on medium 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Add diced lacón, if using. 

Serve the succotash hot or cold.

Uncooked Tomato Sauce

Salsa de Tomate Cruda 

Noodles with uncooked tomato sauce and basil.

This sauce is quick to prepare and has many uses. Spread it on toasted multi-grain bread for authentic pan con tomate. Add the sauce to canned beans, season to taste, and serve hot or cold. It’s delicious with pasta too. 

I like ripe Roma tomatoes because they are easy to peel. (The Roma or “plum” tomato is called “pera” in Spanish.) The tomatoes get chopped in a food processor. Because they are not strained, it’s best to skin the tomatoes first. For a truly uncooked sauce, I don’t dip the tomatoes in boiling water to facilitate peeling. I peel them with a potato peeler. It took me only 5 minutes to peel the 6 or 7 tomatoes for this recipe. 

1 ½ pounds tomatoes (6-7 medium)

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, crushed

Basil leaves

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Optional additions: red pepper flakes, chopped anchovies, capers

Peel the tomatoes and quarter them. Place in a food processor with the salt, garlic, and 2 basil leaves. Process until the tomatoes are thoroughly chopped, but not pureed. Transfer the tomatoes to a sieve set over a bowl. Let the tomatoes drain. Save the juice for another use.

Pan con tomate--just add ham.

Scrape the tomato pulp into a bowl and stir in the oil, pepper, and any optional additions. Cover tightly. Keep at room temperature for up to 4 hours, but refrigerate for longer storage.

If serving the sauce with pasta: Cook preferred pasta according to package directions. Drain it, saving a little of the cooking liquid. Add a olive oil and grated cheese to the hot pasta. Ladle the uncooked tomato sauce over the pasta. Scatter chopped basil and additional cheese on top. 

This photo was taken by my son, Ben Searl, on the summit of Mulhacen, Spain's highest mountain peak. Carried aloft in the backpack, it is astonishing against that colorless background.

More tomato recipes:

50 Ways to Use Your Tomatoes 

Tomato Binge! 

Searching for the Best Tomato 

The Gazpacho Diaries 

Imagine life before tomatoes! Here's a whole cookbook, The Flavors of al-Andalus, with nary a tomato. Although the recipes are from contemporary Spain, they are based on the cooking of Moorish Spain, before there were tomatoes, a New World contribution. There are several gazpacho recipes, all them very traditional, but without tomatoes. A fine addition to your cooking repertoire! 
 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times.  (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

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