Fruit of the vine
The presenter, Lucinda Montefiore, asked me a few months ago to choose a vegetable and then cook one or two recipes on radio.
I adore vegetables and my favourite varies through the seasons. The programme was in July, a period of great abundance in the garden, so the choice was even more difficult.
After much soul searching, I chose tomatoes. We have grown tomatoes for over 60 years in Shanagarry. My father-in-law, Ivan Allen, built his first greenhouse in 1934 and, at its peak, Imokilly Orchards had over 4½ acres under glass. We no longer grow commercially but we have managed to maintain a one-acre steel block where we now grow a wide variety of vegetables and herbs for the restaurant and the school, with a little surplus being sold at the farmers' market in Midleton.
We grow primarily for flavour, choosing varieties not just for yield but for taste. We pore over seed catalogues searching for old varieties that are disease-resistant and packed with flavour. This year, we grew 39 different types of tomato many heirloom varieties.
Tomatoes like these are impossible to source in the shops. Interestingly, the demand is huge in America where many supermarkets now offer up to 15 different varieties, at $10 per pound on my last visit. The variety is mind-boggling. Tomatoes, first discovered in South America and Mexico, come in all shapes and sizes.
They range in colour from red, black and bottle green to yellow, pink, green and orange. One of my favourites is the stripy green variety called Green Zebra. Plump, juicy and with a wonderful flavour, it looks stunning in tomato salad or even in a bowl on the kitchen table.
Some varieties are grown for special purposes: Dad's Mug has an excellent flavour almost hollow inside, perfect for stuffing. Amish paste makes an intensely flavoured puree. Another variety we grow called Pollen, produces tomatoes up to the first week in December with yellow trusses carrying up to 80 cherry tomatoes.
Eileen O'Donovan picked about 25 varieties for me to take to London. When I unwrapped them, there were gasps of admiration from Lucinda Montefiore, Sue Fleming and the crew. No sooner had the programme got underway than the telephone lines were jammed. With the possible exception of beans, no vegetable is prized more by gardeners than tomatoes. We were astonished by the number of heirloom aficionados there were out there.
Serves 4
6 plum tomatoes, quartered
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
85g packet Parma ham slices
4 slices sourdough bread
1 tbsp lemon juice
85g/3oz rocket
85g/3oz Mezuna
200g/8oz soft goats cheese
Malden sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 110degC/Fan 90.
Place the tomatoes onto a baking dish drizzle with a tablespoon of the olive oil, the thyme and plenty of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place in the oven and cook for 3 hours until the tomatoes are almost half in size. Allow to cool.
Turn the oven up to 200C/400F/Gas 6/ fan oven 180C from cold. Arrange the Parma ham slices on a baking sheet and then place another one directly on top. This will ensure that the Parma gets evenly crispy.
Place in the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes until the Parma is really crisp. Drain well on kitchen paper and break into shards you'll need 16 in total. Cover loosely with cling film these can be made up to 4 hours in advance.
Heat a griddle pan. When it is smoking hot grill the bread for about a minute on each side until nicely lined and toasted. Keep warm.
Make the dressing by mixing the lemon juice with the remaining olive oil and seasoning with plenty of salt and black pepper. Spread the goat's cheese onto each slice of the toasted sourdough.
Finally dress the salad leaves. Place the brushettas onto four plates, top with the salad leaves and lay a few slices of crispy Parma on top.
Commercial garam masala loses its aromatic flavour very quickly, so it's always best to make your own. Grind it in small quantities so that it is always fresh and used up quickly.
Makes about 3 tablespoons
1 tbsp green cardamom seeds
1 x 2 inch (5 cm) piece of cinnamon stick
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
¼ whole nutmeg
Put all the ingredients into a clean electric coffee grinder and whizz for about 30 seconds, or until all the spices are finely ground. Store in a dark place in a tiny screwtop jar and use up quickly. Don't forget to clean out the coffee grinder really well or your coffee will certainly perk you up! Better still, if you use spices regularly, keep a grinder specially for that purpose.
Serves 6 as a main course
2¼ lbs (1.1 kg) haddock ling or pollock fillets cut into 6 x 6oz (170g) pieces
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp ground turmeric
Tomato Sauce
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
6ozs (170g) onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb (450g) very ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped or 1 x 14ozs (400g) tin tomatoes
¼ tsp of Garam masala (see recipe)
Mix the salt, cayenne pepper and turmeric together and sprinkle over both sides of the fish fillets. Cover and leave aside while you make the sauce.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. When it is hot, add the fennel and mustard seeds which will start to pop in a few seconds, (be careful they burn really easily.
If the spices burn start again burnt spices will ruin the finished dish), then add the crushed garlic and chopped onions.
Continue to cook until the onions turn golden, then add the ground cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir and then add the tomatoes and juice, finally the Garam masala. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to around 180C/350F/regulo 4.
Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan, brown the pieces of fish on both sides and remove to a warm ovenproof serving dish.
Cover with the tomato sauce and bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until the fish is just cooked. Serve with new potatoes and a good green salad.
Serves 6 people
6-8 tomatoes per person
34-36 ripe red firm cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp or more of butter
3-4 tbsp fresh mint or a mixture of chives, mint and chervil
salt, pepper and sugar
Scald the tomatoes for 10 seconds and peel carefully. Just before serving, heat the butter until it bubbles in a frying pan large enough to take all the tomatoes in a single layer. Toss in the tomatoes and roll gently over a medium heat until just warmed through. Sprinkle with the herbs and salt, pepper and sugar. Turn into a hot vegetable dish and serve at once.
Note: Great care must be taken when cooking the tomatoes, otherwise they will disintegrate into a mush.
Tomatoes have been grown in the greenhouses here in Shanagarry since my father-in-law, Ivan Allen, built his first timber green house in the winter of 1934.
For years the crops were grown commercially but for the past 8 to 10 years we have concentrated on growing as many varieties as we have space for with emphasis totally on flavour yield is not a high priority and every tomato is vine ripened on the plant.
We even grow the tiny Tumbler variety in hanging baskets interspersed with herbs outside the cottages and around the school.
Freshly picked sweet tasting tomatoes, piled high in baskets are part of every day and Tomato salads made from a mixture of colours, shapes and varieties are part of almost every menu in late summer and early autumn.
One variety or a mixture of a very ripe vine ripened heirloom tomatoes. Varieties we enjoy are Sweet 100's, Green Zebra, Valencia, Golden Jubilee etc. Try to include some cherry tomatoes pear shaped, and if you can get them the pretty striped Green zebra, they look and taste particularly stunning.
Salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar
Extra virgin olive oil
Ballymaloe French dressing or balsamic vinegar or at least white wine vinegar
Basil leaves or mint leaves
Cut the tomatoes in half, or lengthwise, or in to wedges, or simply into ¼ inch thick slices depending on the shape and size.
Spread out in a single layer on a large flat plate, season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of sugar. Sprinkle with Ballymaloe French dressing or sparingly with Balsamic vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice and generously with extra virgin olive oil. Scatter with torn basil or mint leaves.
Toss gently, just to coat the tomatoes. Serve soon either as a first course or as an accompanying salad.
Note: Never store tomatoes in the fridge.
900g (2 lbs) vine ripened tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 tspn Sugar
Good pinch of salt
A few twists of black pepper
Cut the very ripe tomatoes into quarters and put into a stainless steel saucepan with the onion, salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar. Cook on a gentle heat until the tomatoes are soft (no water is needed). Put through the fine blade of the mouli-legume or a nylon sieve.
Allow to get cold, refrigerate or freeze.
Note: Tomato Puree is one of the very best ways of preserving the flavour of ripe summer tomatoes for Winters, use for soups, stews, casseroles, etc.
WHERE do you find heirloom tomatoes?
Try your local Farmers' Market, Temple Bar in Dublin, Midleton and Douglas as a source.
Plan to grow some of your own next year or better still get together with a circle of friends, each grow 2 or 3 varieties in grow bags and swap. Send for the seed catalogues now or contact Irish Seedsavers in Scariff, Co Clare (Tel 061-921866) or The Organic Centre in Rosinver, Co Leitrim (Tel 072-54338)
Heron Quality Foods Ltd in Bandon, Co Cork, (members of the Fuchsia Brand), produce a range of gluten free flours and bread and cake mixes look out for them
Net: www.glutenfreedirect.com email: heronfoods@eircom.net Tel: 023-39006
Green Festival Northwest, September 17 - 26 Celebrating our environment, heritage, culture, food and ecology in Leitrim and beyond. For further information contact: The Glens Centre, Tel 071-9855833
The Great British Cheese Festival and Awards, September 25 & 26 at Bleneim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. www.thecheeseweb.com
