TASTE
Prize tomato creations
| • | Culinary calendar |
| • | Portuguese cabbage a tasty find |
| • | It's easy to turn leftover chicken into enchiladas |
| • | Winning chef coming to Honolulu Aug. 28 |
| • | Pick a fruit to go with upside-down cake |
By Bonnie S. Benwick
Washington Post
| |||
 |
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
Terrific recipes don't often spring from a loaf of moldy bread, but this season's best tomato dish did just that, 25 years ago.
In fact, the readers who submitted the first-, second- and third-place entries in The Washington Post Food section's second annual Top Tomato recipe contest have something in common: They made the most of what was available.
As we did last year, we asked readers to submit easy, original creations with no more than 10 ingredients. More than 200 recipes came our way.
The recipes chosen for this special tomato issue, and the readers who sent them, will receive organic cotton grocery tote bags announcing their authority as 2008 Top Tomatoes.
A hefty percentage of the recipes were for soups, sandwiches and pastas with basil. We tested dozens of them. Most were solid, yet nothing special.
Mary Jo Sweeney's 'Mato Sammidges were an early standout. In 1983 the Crownsville, Md., resident and her husband, Dave Hoffman, both now retired U.S. Navy captains, were stationed apart, in San Diego and Monterey, Calif. The couple reunited on weekends; grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches were the plan for one particular day, using produce from the Monterey Farmers Market.
When Sweeney brought out the sourdough, she found it had gone bad. "I looked at those big tomatoes and wondered, 'What if I were to slice and use them like sandwich bread halves instead? The filling could be cheese and bacon. Bacon's good on anything.' "
To keep things in place, she drew on her Georgia fried-tomato roots, treating the tomato sandwiches to a flour-egg-bread-crumb coating and a turn in the skillet until they were golden brown outside but just warm inside.
"They came out great," Sweeney says. "We've been making them in the summertime ever since."
Hoffman is responsible for the name: When he was a child, "sammidge" was as close as he could get to pronouncing "sandwich." The term stuck as a family endearment. They serve 'Mato Sammidges as a side dish with grilled meats and as a main course with a salad.
For many summers, the sandwiches have been a big hit with the midshipmen who come to the Sweeney and Hoffman home through the sponsor family program at the nearby U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
"We regularly feed eight to 10 of them every Saturday night through the academic year," Sweeney says. They consume the sandwiches by the plateful even if they say they don't like tomatoes.
The sandwiches net the Sweeneys top honors, with a $100 gift certificate from the Le Creuset store in Bethesda, Md., headed their way.
Warm sandwiches can be cut into quarters and served as hors d'oeuvres. For filling variations, a mix of cream cheese and blue cheese could be used (without the bacon), which would make a nice sandwich to accompany grilled steak. Replace the bacon with a thin slice of roast beef and use brie for a lunchtime sandwich, or make it meatless with homemade pesto and shavings of Parmesan cheese.
WINNING RECIPE
'MATO SAMMIDGES
Place the tomato slices between paper towels for 15 minutes to drain any excess juices.
Make at least 4 matching pairs of similar-size slices. Spread a 1/4-inch thick layer of cheese on one side of each tomato slice. Crumble the bacon and divide evenly over 4 of the slices. Mate the halves together to make sandwiches.
Lay a few layers of paper towels on a platter placed near the stove top. Heat oil (as needed) in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil shimmers.
Meanwhile, season the flour liberally with salt and pepper and place in a shallow bowl; place the beaten eggs and bread crumbs nearby in separate shallow bowls. Coat both sides of each sandwich, first in the seasoned flour, then in the egg and then in the bread crumbs, shaking off any excess bread crumbs while making sure the sandwiches are well covered.
Cook the sandwiches 2 to 3 minutes, until a golden brown crust forms, then carefully turn them over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown on the second side. (If working in batches, add oil as needed.) Transfer to the paper towel-lined platter to drain slightly; serve warm.
Makes 8 half-sandwiches.
SECOND PLACE
Reston, Va., resident Andrea Okwesa likes to shop at a nearby store when she can swing past a shelf in the produce department where overripe tomatoes used to cost just 50 cents per pound (they've since gone up to 99 cents per pound).
"I started noticing in the late spring," she says. "I would call ahead to make sure they were there each week and then buy as many as I could get."
Jamaican-born Okwesa says she has always loved to cook with tomatoes and onions, garlic and spices.
"I put them all in my mother's big old iron skillet" and came up with Andrea's All-Purpose, All-Natural Thick 'n' Tasty Tomato Sauce. It's chunky and luscious, good as a condiment and as an accompaniment for pasta.
On weekends, Okwesa makes batches for her husband and for some of her grown children to take back to their homes.
"My grandbabies like it, too," she says. The sauce earns her a signed copy of "The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table," by Amy Goldman, placing second in the 2008 Top Tomato recipe contest.
ANDREA'S ALL-PURPOSE, ALL-NATURAL, THICK 'N' TASTY TOMATO SAUCE
Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until oil shimmers.
Add onion and garlic, stirring to combine; cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have softened and start to caramelize.
Add the tomatoes and mix well to incorporate, then add the herbs. Stir to combine, and cook for a few minutes until the mixture starts to bubble. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 1 hour 45 minutes, until a thick sauce has formed. When the sauce is almost done, season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to containers, preferably glass, to cool, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week; or place in freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
Makes about 2 quarts.
THIRD PLACE
Diane Leveglia of Waldorf, Md., has reprised a recipe her mother used to make on Fridays when Leveglia was growing up in northern New Jersey.
"We were Italian Catholics who couldn't eat meat, and we hated fish," she says, so Summer Garden Poached Eggs was the answer.
After Leveglia had picked plenty of zucchini and tomatoes from her garden this summer, she realized she had the makings of her mom's economical meal.
"I told my husband that everyone else would be sending in salsa, so why not enter this?" (We did receive a few, it's true.)
The vegetable combination is light and flavorful, with a gently poached egg and its runny yolk topping things off. Only trouble is, no one in Leveglia's household will go near it. Her husband and grown sons say: You lost us at the egg.
"That's why this win is even funnier," she says. "I entered on a fluke, and look what happened."
Leveglia will receive a signed copy of "Heirloom: Notes From an Accidental Tomato Farmer," by Tim Stark, in addition to bragging rights among her sisters, who also know the recipe.
Serve this dish, which placed third in the contest, for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner.
SUMMER GARDEN POACHED EGGS
Heat the oil in a large nonstick saute pan (or skillet with high sides) over medium heat until the oil shimmers. Add the onions and cook for about 7 minutes, until they are translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and add the tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the zucchini and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on the desired degree of doneness.
Break or crack each egg into a separate saucer or small cup. Working with 1 egg at a time, tip them carefully into the hot tomato-zucchini mixture by lowering the lip of each egg cup 1/2 inch below the surface of the mixture. Use a spoon to gently corral the egg whites closer to their yolks, if necessary. Immediately cover the pan and turn off the heat (do not move the pan). Let sit, undisturbed, for 4 minutes. The yolks should be quite delicate and not at all firm.
Divide among individual plates; season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.
Makes 4 servings.
OTHER RECIPES
The easy Baked Boursin and Tomato Appetizer, adapted from Jennifer Janowitz of Arlington, Va., pairs nicely with crackers and a glass of chardonnay.
BAKED BOURSIN AND TOMATO APPETIZER
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the tomatoes in a single layer in the bottom of a large, shallow baking dish. Sprinkle half of the basil on the tomatoes.
Combine cheese and milk in a large measuring cup to form a thick, lumpy sauce. Pour over the tomatoes and basil, then sprinkle the remaining basil on top. Bake for 20 minutes; serve hot.
Makes 8 servings.
This salad dressing has a nice, rich flavor. It makes a good marinade for fish and a quick sauce for pasta. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.
Adapted from Sharon Marks of South Milwaukee, Wis.
MIDWEST'S BEST TOMATO VINAIGRETTE
Pass the tomatoes through a food mill or push through an applesauce strainer into a deep measuring cup, discarding the solids. Add the vinegar, oil, syrup and chives, whisking to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Makes about 2 cups.
