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Tomato
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Identity Card
Name: Tomato
Product type: Vegetable fruit of a herbaceous plant originally from South America
Colour and texture: Red in colour with juicy flesh
Production area: This vegetable fruit is grown throughout Italy, mostly in the south, but also on the river Po plain
Note: The most common varieties are San Marzano, Pachino, cherry and dimpled tomatoes |
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True connoisseurs hold with the tenet "each recipe to its own tomato". Owing to technological advances it is now possible to have fresh tomatoes in every season.
Throughout Italy San Marzano tomatoes with their characteristic elongated shape are commonly used for making tomato preserve, a fundamental ingredient for Spaghetti with tomato sauce, which despite being a simple dish nonetheless remains a masterpiece of Mediterranean cuisine. But San Marzano are also tasty in salads or rubbed energetically over a piece of toasted bread previously rubbed with garlic and drizzled with a little oil for a classic bruschetta. The "Ventura" type is also ideal for making preserve. Dimpled tomatoes on the other hand are perfect for serving au gratin. You can spot this variety easily because the tomatoes are sold while still on the stalk. Simply cut them widthways, hull them out a little, mix the pulp with some breadcrumbs, parsley and garlic and then bake in the oven at 180-200°C; be sure to get a nice crunchy gratin surface before serving.
Cherry and Pachino tomatoes are grown in North Central Italy: a reserve of flavour originally from southern Sicily which creates a tidal wave of flavour on a pizza with buffalo mozzarella or a dish of pasta finished cooking with a drizzle of oil, a little chopped onion, a salt-preserved anchovy and some julienned courgettes. In recent years the cherry tomato has won over a considerable share of the market, owing to its attractiveness and distinctive flavour. Green tomatoes can be dipped in batter and fried, but also turned into a delicious chutney with a pleasant tang to it.
In short, there is a tomato to suit everyone. Raw or cooked, tomatoes will never fail to astound us if only we can appreciate them for their multifaceted Mediterranean personality.
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