Conscious Choice: A Torrent of Tomatoes

August 2008 | Healthy Living :: Savor the Season

A Torrent of Tomatoes

By Terra Brockman

If there is one thing that redeems the stifling Midwestern summer, it is the taste of a true tomato — dripping with juice, bursting with flavor.

Now is the time to seek out true tomatoes from local producers in all their splendid variety: hybrids, heirlooms, cherry, pear, plum, even the diminutive currant tomatoes. Their rainbow names alone are enough to set your mouth watering: Sun Gold, Green Zebra, Pink Accordion, Prudens’ Purple, Striped Roman, Purple Calabash, Orange Oxheart, Black Trifele, Great White and the ever-popular Brandywines-pink, red, and yellow — just to name a few.

But every luscious local tomato has a back story. In food, as in life, we tend to focus on the surface of things — not on what goes on invisibly below or behind. But everything above ground is supported and nurtured (or damaged) by everything below, and that is where, at every step, careful attention must be paid.

When we pay attention to the tomato, we realize that when it appears in August, it comes with a complex, labor-intensive, months-long life history. The farmer ordered the seed for that tomato in December, it arrived in January, was planted in the greenhouse in February, transplanted outside in May, mulched in June, trellised repeatedly in June, July and August, and begins to bear fruit in August — fruit that, for the very best tomatoes, is lovingly hand-harvested to get to you un-bruised and un-blemished.

Now is the time to slice ’em, dice ’em, sauce ’em, salad ’em and slurp’em down shamelessly. And when you have eaten your fill, be sure and put some up for winter. These days “putting them up” doesn’t necessarily mean getting down the Mason jars and pressure cooker. Tomatoes are one of the few vegetables that you can simply wash, cut into chunks, and slip into a zip-lock freezer bag. After thawing they can be used in any cooked dish, from soup to sauce.

But now, while they are in season, I suggest a simple bruschetta. You can doll up these simple garlic-rubbed toasts with mozzarella, arugla, or prosciutto, but I’d advise restraint. The first time I had bruschetta, in a tiny trattoria in a small village near Pisa, the toasts were topped simply with fresh tomatoes and basil luxuriating in olive oil. They were a revelation that I don’t think it’s possible to improve upon.

Classic Tomato-Basil Bruschetta

For Topping:

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes — a mix of heirloom varieties works well

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons freshly torn basil leaves salt and pepper to taste

For Toasts:

1 loaf crusty Italian or French bread, or a sour-dough baguette

1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Fresh basil leaves

1. Place all topping ingredients in a large bowl and let sit about 15 minutes for the flavors to mingle. While you’re waiting, prepare the grill or preheat broiler to make the toasts. (A toaster oven also works fine.)

2. Cut bread crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Grill slices on a rack set about 4 inches over glowing coals 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Alternatively, broil slices in batches under a broiler or in a toaster oven about 4 inches from heat until golden.

3. Rub toasts with garlic on one side and lightly brush same side with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then mound about 1 tablespoon of the tomato mixture on the oiled side of each toast. Top with torn basil leaves. Eat!

Terra Brockman is the founder of The Land Connection, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving farmland, training new farmers, and connecting consumers with local food. Visit thelandconnection.org to learn more. She helps her family raise organic fruits and vegetables in central Illinois. Visit henrysfarm.com.

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