Tomatoes

There can be few foods more environmentally damaging or disappointing to eat than a Dutch or English hothouse tomato picked in the winter. Despite this, they have become as much a staple part of our diet as that other member of the Solanaceae family, the potato. Unlike the potato, though, they struggle in our damp, cool climate and will never be at their best here. Without the benefit of protection, their natural season would be about five minutes at the end of September, and even then they would lack the intensity of flavour of an Italian tomato. As a grower, I can’t help thinking life would be much simpler if Cortes had left them in Mexico, but they are here to stay, so we must rise to the challenge and make the most of the climate we have.

Using cold tunnels, we can extend the season from June to mid October, which is as far as we go at Riverford. Under heated glass, tomatoes can be picked from March to Christmas but the energy cost is insane, resulting in about 2 kilos of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere for every kilo of tomatoes produced. Where waste or low-grade heat is used from combined heat and power electricity generation or other sources, it can make sense, but generally, if we must eat tomatoes earlier than July or later than October, from a taste and environmental perspective it would be better to import them. Better still, just give them a miss in their fresh form from November to April.

Plant breeding is a bit like post-Thatcherite Britain: in the rush to maximise whatever can be measured, less quantifiable qualities are lost. With such intense pressure on the more easily quantified factors, most notably yield, flavour has suffered particularly badly with tomatoes. The problem of poor-tasting varieties is compounded by the way they are grown: the roots of most non-organic tomatoes never touch the soil. They are drip-fed a lifeless, computer-controlled solution of nutrients through an inert medium of glass fibres (like the Rockwool in your attic). Everything is controlled, right down to the level of carbon dioxide they breathe to maximise the harvest. This sort of production gives huge yields but will never create the depth and subtlety of flavour that results from interaction with the living soil.

Given the abuses suffered by tomatoes, it is amazing that they ever taste of anything, but there are signs of a revival. The public has become so disen-chanted with them (tomatoes have become symbolic of poor flavour resulting from industrialised production methods) that it is demanding something better. The industry is responding with some superior-tasting varieties. I am sceptical about vine-ripened tomatoes; they are grown in the same way as all the rest and there is no intrinsic reason for them to taste any better than the standard types, but they have become a means of differentiation to show that there has been at least some consideration of flavour. To produce a trellis of red fruit, they must be left on the plant until the ones lower down have at least partially ripened. Perhaps more significantly, the vine is included in the pack; it is the vine that contributes more flavour and aroma of ripe tomato than the fruit itself. Since getting the idea from Heston Blumenthal, I include some vine when making tomato sauce and it does seem to give a more intense flavour (hook it out and discard before serving).

At Riverford, we have tried virtually every variety of tomato, from commercial and gardeners’ catalogues, including many heritage/heirloom ones. The best we have ever grown, and the one I would always recommend to gardeners, is the cherry tomato, Gardener’s Delight. The flavour is consistently superb, even in gloomy summers. Sadly, its thin skin, which is one of the things that make it so good to eat, means it is very prone to splitting. After a rash of complaints, we have retreated to Favorita, which tastes very nearly as good and normally survives the trip from the farm without bursting out of itself. Of all the standard-sized tomatoes, Douglas has proved the best for us, though it does not compare in flavour to Favorita. Disappointingly, none of the weird and wacky varieties has produced exceptional taste in our tunnels. We had a brief flirtation with beefsteak/Marmande types but, again, found that in our climate they didn’t really produce the flavour we had hoped for.

We have also played around with various plum tomato varieties for cooking but I have reached the conclusion that, after a lot of work in the polytunnels and the kitchen, the result is no better than a good canned tomato.

Storage and preparation

Tomatoes don’t like being kept below 10°C (it affects the texture as well as the taste) so unless they are getting overripe, it is best to keep them out of the fridge in a cool vegetable rack. Ideally they would be picked ripe and eaten immediately, but the veg trade is risk averse and if they have had to face the long trip from Spain or even Morocco they will almost certainly have been picked virtually green.

To skin tomatoes, cut a little cross in the base of each one, then place in boiling water. Leave for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh in cold water; the skin should peel off easily. To deseed, cut the tomatoes into quarters and scoop out the seeds with a small knife, or just with your thumb.

Gazpacho

This was the very first dish we served in the Field Kitchen and it is based on an excellent version made by a friend of Jane’s, Mazz Piotrowski, a chef in Sydney. Yes, not very Torremolinos, but a highly refreshing dish that can be produced without much fuss. Apparently the Spanish always have some gazpacho in their fridge so they can have a swig when they come in after a night on the town.

Serves 6

500g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped

¹/² cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped

1 red pepper, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

a bunch of basil

1 red onion, chopped

1 red chilli, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped coriander

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

150ml olive oil

Mix together all the ingredients except the oil and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Blend in a food processor or liquidiser, gradually adding the olive oil. Pass through the finest plate of a mouli-légumes or through a very fine sieve. Check the seasoning and then chill thoroughly before serving.

Toasted Bread Salad with Basil and Tomatoes

This was devised as a crunchy alternative to the Italian bread salad, panzanella, which if made badly can be a bit slimy. The dressing is very good with grilled fish or French beans, too.

Serves 6

1 ciabatta loaf, ripped into chunks

600g well-flavoured tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters

120ml extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 teaspoons capers, soaked in cold water for 20 minutes, then squeezed dry

3 anchovies

leaves from a small bunch of basil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

good olive oil for drizzling

Bake the ciabatta chunks in an oven preheated to 200°C/Gas Mark 6 for about 5 minutes, until toasted but still soft in the middle. Squeeze the juice from about a third of the tomatoes into a food processor, along with any juice that escaped when you cut them up. Add the oil, vinegar, garlic, capers and anchovies and blitz to make a dressing. Check the seasoning.

Put the toasted ciabatta in a bowl with the remaining tomatoes, the shredded basil and the dressing and toss well. Drizzle with good olive oil and serve.

Basic Tomato Sauce

A versatile sauce that makes a good base for salsas and pasta dishes. If serving it with penne, add some chilli and rosemary with the garlic, then finish it off with a little cream. Alternatively, add the basic tomato sauce to any type of pasta with a couple of knobs of butter, a splash of balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and grated pecorino cheese.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

450g good, ripe tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan, add the garlic and cook gently for a few minutes, until softened but not coloured. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and raise the heat until the tomatoes are simmering. Lower the heat again and cook gently for about 1 hour, until reduced and thickened. Season well.

Home-dried Tomatoes

A simple way of producing your own equivalent to sun-dried tomatoes. They are excellent tossed in a salad, used in tarts or mixed with pasta. Dry as many tomatoes as you like; they keep well.

4 tablespoons olive oil

16 tomatoes

1 tablespoon caster sugar

sea salt

Drizzle about half the olive oil over 2 baking trays. Cut the tomatoes length-ways in half, then slide the knife around the inside of each one and remove the pulp and pips. Arrange the tomato halves on the trays so that they are close but not touching. Drizzle the remaining oil over the top and sprinkle with the sugar and a little salt.

Put the trays in an oven preheated to 150°C/Gas Mark 2 and cook for about 45 minutes; the tomatoes should look shrunken and slightly coloured when they are done. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

To store, pack the tomatoes into jars and cover completely with good-quality olive oil. They will keep for about 6 months without refrigeration.

Fried Green Tomatoes

On a road trip across the States, Jane ate these for the first time at a bustling restaurant in that eccentric town, Savannah. This version is based on the Jane Grigson recipe and if you can eat then without thinking about Kathy Bates squatting over a mirror, do try them; they are delicious.

Serves 4

450g green tomatoes, cut into slices 5mm thick

1 egg, lightly beaten

cornmeal or polenta for coating

8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon or pancetta

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 tablespoon butter

a little chopped parsley and/or basil, to garnish

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Season the tomato slices with salt and pepper. Put the beaten egg in a shallow dish and spread the cornmeal out on a plate. Coat each tomato slice in the egg, letting any excess run off, and then coat them in the cornmeal.

Fry the bacon in the sunflower oil until it is crisp and all the fat has run out. Remove the bacon from the pan and crumble it, then set aside.

Add the butter to the bacon fat in the pan and fry the tomatoes until golden on both sides. Place on a serving dish and scatter the crumbled bacon over them. Sprinkle with the chopped herbs and serve.

Easy ideas for tomatoes

• To make tomato bruschetta, grill some ciabatta or sourdough bread on both sides. Rub one side with a peeled clove of garlic and drizzle with good olive oil, then top with diced cherry tomatoes, a little finely sliced red onion, shredded basil, crushed garlic and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

• For a fresh summer pasta dish, halve some extra-sweet cherry tomatoes and toss with crushed garlic, shredded basil and cooked linguine. Season, then finish with olive oil and a little good red wine vinegar. Capers and anchovies can be added too, as well as crisp fried breadcrumbs.

• You can make a quick relish by mixing together 200g diced tomatoes, 1 diced onion and 4 tablespoons of chopped coriander, parsley or mint, then seasoning with ¹/² teaspoon of cayenne pepper, ¹/² teaspoon of roasted and ground cumin seeds, ³/⁴ teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Serve with spicy fish dishes, Indian food or just on toast for a delicious healthy snack.

• Drizzle cherry tomatoes on the vine with olive oil and roast at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 for about 15 minutes, until their skins are beginning to burst. Serve as a garnish for summer chicken or fish dishes.