Posted on: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
TASTE
Roasted tomatoes a versatile delight
By Joan Namkoong
Special to The Advertiser
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After coring and slicing the tomatoes and adding minced garlic and parsley, pour 1 to 1 1/2 cups of good-quality olive oil over them. Now they're ready to roast.
Share Your Table
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WHAT'S A CHIFFONADE?
A chiffonade is thin strips or shreds of vegetables or herbs. For a basil chiffonade, stack basil leaves on top of each other. Roll them up tightly and, using a sharp knife, slice the basil into thin strips. WHY COARSE-GRAINED SALT? Use coarse-grained salt as a topping salt when you want to add a little crunch and texture to a dish. A fine "Hawaiian salt" will do, or use a French or British sea salt. Kosher salt works, too. Very coarse-grained salts might be a bit too salty, however. PARMIGIANO REGGIANO: ITALY'S KING OF CHEESESThere is no finer cheese than parmigiano reggiano, produced in northern Italy's Emilia Romagna region. It is a hard cheese, a "grana" or grain-style cheese that is delicious to eat as it is, as well as the cheese of choice to top pasta dishes or Caesar salad or to bind the flavors of a risotto. It's even perfect melted on toast. Parmigiano reggiano is produced from whole and skim milk, formed into 75-pound wheels that are aged from 18 months to three years. It is speckled with white flecks of crystallized amino acids that crunch as you savor its creaminess and graininess, sharpness and subtlety. Authentic parmigiano reggiano has a rind with its name stenciled into it. Imitators are less expensive, to be sure, but none are as flavorful and delicious. Look for the real thing. Parmigiano reggiano will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. Keep it tightly wrapped in plastic. Use a microplane grater for fine shreds, a vegetable peeler for shavings. Or just break off a piece and enjoy its nutty, wonderful flavor.
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SUNDAY DINNER ALL WEEK
Saute or grill your favorite Island fish and top it with a couple of pieces of roasted tomatoes. For a delicious appetizer, top fresh plain goat cheese or ricotta cheese with roasted tomatoes, a sprinkling of coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve it with crackers alongside a salad of mixed greens for a light lunch or supper. Use roasted tomatoes to make bruschetta. (See recipe, this page.) Create a healthful but hearty dinner salad, accentuated with roasted tomatoes. Start with your favorite greens, add thin slices of salami or prosciutto, cooked white beans, roasted peppers, olives. Cut tomatoes into pieces and toss into the salad. Add shavings of parmigiano reggiano as you toss the salad with your favorite vinaigrette. Caprese — tomatoes and mozzarella — will taste even better when you use roasted tomatoes alongside chunks or little balls (boconcini) of mozzarella. Top with olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, a sprinkling of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper and basil chiffonade for an outstanding flavor combination.WHICH TOMATOES TO BUY?About 75 percent of all the tomatoes found in local supermarkets are grown right here in Hawai'i. Surprised? Most of the tomatoes come from Kunia, where Sugarland company grows an abundance of beefsteak tomatoes. These are your basic "supermarket" tomatoes, low in price, picked green and gassed to enhance the ripening process. At the supermarket, these tomatoes will appear orangy-red in color and will be firm to the touch. Take them home, put them on your kitchen counter for a few days and let them ripen and develop their flavor. Supermarkets also stock a variety of branded tomatoes such as Green Grower tomatoes from Hau'ula, Hamakua Springs Country Farms and Kamuela tomatoes from the Big Island. You'll pay a bit more for them but they are naturally ripened, often on the vine, and usually pack more flavor. Smaller tomatoes like cocktail, cherry and grape varieties also tend to be more flavorful; buy these for salads where they will really add some punch. Farmers markets are also a good source of tasty tomatoes. All tomatoes can usually stand at least a day or two of ripening before they are eaten. Remember: never refrigerate a tomato!
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Here's how to make fresh roasted tomatoes — a centerpiece ingredient in many dishes to make throughout the week.
Make a double batch of these tomatoes and use them to dress up meals on busy weeknights. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator. You could also freeze them for future use. Don't let the quantity of olive oil scare you; you'll want to lap up every drop of it!
ROASTED TOMATOES
12 large, ripe, red tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
1 to 1 1/2 cups good-quality olive oil
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Cut out the core of each tomato using the tip of a paring knife or a tomato corer. Cut the tomato in half horizontally. Place the tomatoes in a shallow, heatproof casserole or roasting pan, packing them tightly together.
Sprinkle the garlic and parsley over the top of each tomato half. Pour the olive oil over the tomatoes; there should be at 1/3 inch of olive oil in the pan. Place the tomatoes in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes. Baste the tomatoes with the olive oil and liquid and continue to roast for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. As the tomatoes roast, they will release their moisture and shrink. Then the juices will evaporate, the tomatoes will brown and char a bit, leaving shriveled tomatoes in deliciously flavored olive oil. Remove the pan from the oven and serve the tomatoes hot or at room temperature.
VARIATIONS ON A THEME
Once you've made roasted tomatoes, use them to make the most delicious pasta dish ever. To round out the meal for carnivores, you could grill some sausages, a steak or some chicken — but there's no doubt that this pasta dish will be appreciated by everyone at your Sunday Night Supper, vegetarian or not.
TOMATOES AND PASTA
1/2 pound fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti or other favorite pasta
Roasted tomatoes (recipe above)
Coarse-grained salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, preferably parmigiano reggiano
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt to the water and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Transfer the pasta to a serving dish.
Top the pasta with the roasted tomatoes and some of the olive oil from the roasting pan. Toss together, breaking the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and toss again, adding a little more olive oil and some pasta water, if needed, to moisten the pasta. Top with half of the cheese; sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately, passing the remaining cheese. Serves 4.
GRILLED FISH WITH FRESH ROASTED TOMATOES
4 6-ounce filets of fresh fish, such as nairagi, mahimahi, swordfish or ono, one filet per person
Olive oil
Coarse-grained salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Roasted tomatoes
Heat a grill. Brush each fish filet with olive oil; season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill the fish over high heat, about 4 minutes for a half-inch-thick filet, turning once. Grill until just cooked through and transfer to a plate. Top the fish with a generous amount of fresh roasted tomatoes.
FRESH ROASTED TOMATO AND BEEF CASSEROLE
8 ounces penne pasta or elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef, preferably grass-fed
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
Fresh roasted tomatoes
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, preferably parmigiano reggiano
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water and add the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta cooking liquid. Transfer the pasta to an ovenproof casserole.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the beef and cook, breaking the beef into small pieces. Add the parsley and fresh roasted tomatoes and cook for a few minutes to blend the flavors.
Transfer the tomato-beef mixture to the casserole and mix with the pasta. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese and mix together. Add some pasta liquid to moisten. Smooth out the mixture in the pan and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is browned.
BRUSCHETTA
3/4-inch-thick slices of good-quality French bread
Olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half
Coarse-grained salt
Fresh roasted tomatoes
Fresh basil, very thinly sliced
Toast or grill bread. Drizzle with olive oil and rub with a cut clove of garlic. Sprinkle with salt. Top with roasted tomatoes and basil. Serve immediately. Joan Namkoong is a Big Island-based freelance writer and proponent of farmers' markets and eating locally.
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