Tomato: A
Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook
Author: Lawrence
Davis-Hollander
Publisher: Storey Publishing (2010)
When it comes to produce at it's prime, Summer means one
thing and one thing only: tomatoes. It's hard to argue that anything tastes
better than a fresh, sun-kissed beefsteak or handful of cherry tomatoes sliced
onto toast, tossed with a simple salad or simply fresh off the vine. However,
if you have ever grown tomato plants yourself, you know the inevitable glut
that comes near the middle of August when you just can't think of another way
to use them. Meeting this need for late-season (or any time) inspiration is Lawrence
Davis-Hollander, founder of the Eastern Native Seed Conservancy and Director of
Horticulture at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens, with his latest book Tomato:
A Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook.
Tomato is packed with 150 recipes from all over
the globe, including those from famous chefs like Massimo Capra (of Toronto's
Mistura), Daniel Boulud and Rick Bayless. Every course is incorporated into the
pages - sauces & salsas, starters,
soups, salads, pizzas & sandwiches, vegetable mains, meat and fish mains,
sides and even desserts like the
strangely appetizing Candied-Tomato Tart
with Five-Spiced Hazelnut Crust (p. 220). Davis-Hollander even includes a
critical chapter of preserves (p. 227),
with information on freezing, drying, juicing, pickling, canning and even
confiting your harvest for the long winter ahead. Ideas for using your
preserved (or storebought canned) tomatoes are also entwined with the book's
recipe collection, from a Sun-Dried
Tomato and Olive Bread (p. 132) (which coincidentally goes wonderfully with
the Green Tomatoes on Toast on the
next page) to canned diced tomatoes in Tomato,
Lentil and Almond Soup (p. 86) and the juice (of course) in the Bloody Bull (p. 65) and Spicy Tomato Cocktail (p. 66). A guide
to saving tomato seeds to plant next year is also included on page 259.
 |
| Confit Tomatoes (p. 251) |
Mouthwatering photography in this book is provided by
Sabra Krock - I just wish there was more of it, and incorporated into the flow
of the book itself. As a reader I look for photos accompanying the recipes, and
while I appreciate the inclusion of photos at all, searching for an example of
a stellar-sounding dish in only 8 pages is often a letdown.
The recipes in Tomato themselves are generally
nothing short of spectacular - I have made the Confit Tomatoes (p. 251) three times this season, and packed some
home-dried cherry tomatoes in olive oil
(p. 250) for holiday gift giving. The beginning and end of the season (when
the tomatoes in our backyard were not quite at their peak ripeness) saw
impromptu half- and quarter-batches of the Roasted
Heirloom Tomato Sauce (p. 20), which capitalized on the available sugars in
the fruit but was too sweet for our palates. Luckily, modifying the acidity and
salt is a simple technique for any cook, and when the basic recipe is as
foolproof as this Market Kitchen offering I even ventured to roast the onions
and garlic as well. This modification proved to be a great boon to the outcome,
adding a slightly bitter edge to the candy-sweet tomatoes, and a kiss of lemon
juice with a dash of salt rounded out the flavours.
 |
| Roasted Heirloom Tomato Sauce (p. 20) |
For those less inclined to fire up the oven or stove who
enjoy absorbing a wealth of food knowledge, Tomato is also filled with
information on the crop's heirloom varieties (p. 253, as well as throughout), growing in containers (p. 7), choosing the best variety for
the recipe (p. 9) and even the
economics of the food and it's associated products. I loved reading the article
"America's Love Affair with
Tomatoes" (p. 69), where I learned that almost 22 pounds of fresh (and
72 pounds of processed) tomatoes are consumed per capita in the USA, but that
China, not a western country, is the largest producer of them! For the truly
tomato-crazy, Davis-Hollander shares some of the festivals around the USA, and
for those interested in the chefs behind some of Tomato's recipes,
biographies are included near their offerings.
"Top 10" lists of various foodie's favourite varieties also
lace the book, which is a great resource when selecting a cultivar to plant or
buy.
While the season in the northern hemisphere may be
drawing to a close, the treats and information in Lawrence Davis-Hollander's
book are timeless. Whether you are looking for a use-up for an over-productive
garden, trying to jazz up a can from the store or searching for ideas as to
what next year's crop will be, you'll find something of use. For tomato lovers
(and those who cook for them) Tomato: A Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook is
an easy to savour addition to the culinary library.
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