Here at the height of tomato season, "Food Guy" Jon Jackson pronounces tomatoes "one of the most accommodating things to cook with." Other "Food Guy" Greg Patent recommends cooking with beefsteak or Roma varieties of this glorious nightshade. If you can take a break from stuffing yourself with raw tomatoes, try Greg's stuffed tomatoes or tomato sauce.
Stuffed tomatoes:
You'll need fresh bread crumbs, minced garlic, chopped fresh thyme, parsley, basil, olive oil, and grated Parmesan cheese.
Cut beefsteak tomatoes in half, through the equator. Gently squeeze them to remove the seeds and juice, and to create little pockets for the stuffing. Pack the crumb mixture in. After stuffing them, drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
Pasta Sauce with Roma tomatoes (from We Called It Macaroni: An American Heritage Of Southern Italian Cooking, by Nancy Verde Barr):
Peel 2 pounds of tomatoes by blanching them in boiling water for a few seconds, then shocking them in cold water. Peel, and cut them in half lengthwise. Don’t squeeze them to remove the seeds.
Heat 1/2 cup olive oil over medium-low in a 12-inch skillet. Add hot pepper flakes, to taste, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1/2 cup of chopped sweet onion or shallots. Cook the mixture till tender.
Place the tomatoes cut side-up in the skillet and cook 5 minutes. Carefully turn and sprinkle the tomatoes lightly with salt and sugar (no more than 1 teaspoon sugar total). Put into a 225 degree F oven 2 1/2 hours. Leave the tomatoes alone. Remove them from the oven and sprinkle them with 1/3 cup each of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and basil. Baste with pan juices. Return to oven for another 1/2 hour. Serve over 1 pound cooked spaghetti.
Pasta Sauce With Canned Tomatoes:
If you're using canned tomatoes to make tomato sauce, buy whole San Marzano ones, and crush them yourself. Heat olive oil in a saucepan, add chopped garlic and 4-5 anchovies, and let the anchovies melt in the oil. Add the tomatoes and some white wine. Let it all simmer for about forty minutes. Season with fresh parsley or thyme or dried oregano.
(Broadcast: "The Food Guys," 8/30/15 and 9/3/15. Listen weekly on the radio at 11:50 a.m. Sundays and again at 4:54 p.m. Thursdays, or via podcast.)
