I’ve been thinking lately, about tomatoes.  Perhaps because this unrelenting weather has stunted the growth of my little beauties in the back yard and wonder if my earthy spring efforts will be for naught.  I am pulling for them and visit them every afternoon to chat them up and encourage them to spread their wings and become the unruly climbing vines that nature intended them to be.

In the meantime, I’ve been hovering, anticipating the many dishes we’ll make together; gazpacho, salsa, insalata Caprese, tomato bisque, and of course, marinara.  What other fruit is as delicious raw as it is cooked, dried, even concentrated?  Is represented in so many different cultures?  Has so many varieties, colors and shapes?  The humble tomato adds joy to the plate with its cheerful color, lycopene, vitamin C and its sweet, juiciness.

Last spring, I ordered gazpacho at Ristorante Massimo (formerly Alberto’s) at 59 Penhallow Street in Portsmouth, which was elegant and refined and infused with such flavor, even after all this time I can still invoke its essence.  The chef had pushed it through a chinois, which is a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh used to strain custards, purees, soups, and sauces so the texture was smooth and graceful, unlike the rustic version I make at home.  An insider told me one of the chef’s secret ingredients was radishes, which I can’t imagine could make anything taste that good, but I’ll keep an open mind.

So, while I fret and worry and make daily visits to my plants in the back yard, I’m holding out hope for the good times my tomatoes and I are going to share once summer actually arrives.  Which it will, I am sure.  Won’t it?

Chow,

Nancy Pearson

Nancy lives in Seacoast NH and enjoys food, fashion and all things Mediterranean. 

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