The Tomato. Born in the mountainsides of Peru. Ancient fruit of the New World. An innocent of the Nightshade Family. All of Europe feared this transvestite fruit/vegetable, except the Italians. They embraced this acidic fruit, called it the Love Apple, and proceeded to fill their recipes with tomatoes diced, simmered, pureed, stuffed.
Now, this fruit that acts like a vegetable is ubiquitous: Need a little color? Add some diced tomato! Your salad a little plain? Tomato! Want an easy appetizer? Cherry tomatoes are the ultimate crudite!
They are beautiful: Reds of every hue, greens, white!, yellow, orange, even purple! Tiny little balls of red, yellow, orange! Giant bulbous blobs of scarlet and deep purple! Stripey firm orbs of green and yellow! They look so gay tumbled together at the farmer's market. They are so happy, lined up in color-coded rows at the store.
They work so hard: Thick slices stacked, tricolor, with pesto. Cubed chunks swimming with garlic and basil on crostini. Five colors chopped into wedges, sprinkled with gorgonzola and balsamic, triangles of watermelon; it glistens and smiles: "Summertime!"
They display such versatility: tomato chutney perfects those hush puppies and, mixed into a salad dressing (yes...try that one!), creates a whole new world. Pureed tomato transforms sauces, soups, pizzas, and sorbets (yes...try that one with ratatouille!). Tomato is the zen master: sliced with balsamic, sliced with tarragon and red wine vinegar, sliced with sea salt, sliced with...your turn!
It's unfortunate, then, for me, that's it's on my list. I know I'm missing out. I just can't do it. The one food I cannot abide: the tomato. What a shame! I know! Tomatoes have a place in my heart. They even have a place on my table, but they don't get much space in my tummy. I've tried! Seriously! When your mother makes goulash, chili, and spaghetti weekly, you really try to like tomatoes. But to no avail...
I am a stubborn girl, but I'm not a zealot...Hand me a burrito with diced tomato inside and I'll eat it all. I'll make you tomato soup and even eat it with you, as long as there's some roasted red pepper, fennel, thyme, and caramelized onion in there. Oh! and lots of bread, please....
Make those tomatoes sun-dried...oh. All is forgiven. Sun-dried tomatoes are the evil twin's lovely brother. Pack them in oil and I am in love. Funny what a little extra sunshine can do! I toss sun-dried tomatoes into my romaine with sourdough croutons. Yummmm. I puree sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil with a wedge of brie for a most-excellent pasta sauce. Mmmmm. I add sun-dried tomatoes to my spaghetti sauce and I can eat with my family! Yeah!
But you can scrach most Italian food off my list. Don't hand me bruschetta or pass me the ketchup. And please, whatever you do, don't bite into a warm, raw tomato from your garden! Eew!
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