It’s hard to believe that at one time in human history tomatoes were thought to be poison.
That’s because it’s a member of the nightshade family and many nightshades are, in fact, poisonous. But thanks to some brave soul, the first guy who risked his life to bite into a tomato, we have one of the most versatile and delicious fruits available to us for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time.
Aside from the ubiquitous ketchup, salsa and tomato sauce available commercially absolutely everywhere, there are so many things you can do with tomatoes.
Many culinary purists will tell you that tomatoes should be peeled and seeded in order to be enjoyed fully, as the skin is tough and the seeds are bitter. And there are a number of dishes I make where I do peel and seed my tomatoes. But not all tomato skins and seeds should be condemned to the garbage bin.
My pasta sauces would not taste the same. My salsas would not pop. And I need the skin on my tomatoes when I stuff, bake or roast them to maintain the shape and integrity of the tomato.
Should your recipe call for a peeled, seeded and chopped tomato, here’s the easiest way to peel a tomato: The core of the tomato is not very tasty and it should be removed. That’s fairly easy to do. Take a small paring knife and gently cut around the stem end of the tomato and cut out the core – it should be cone-shaped. Then with that same paring knife, go to the opposite end and make an “X” in the skin, about a quarter inch deep. Plunge the tomato into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. You’ll see the skin has blistered and will come off easily.
All of the foregoing applies to larger tomatoes. The little ones – from cherry to grape to teardrop, and so forth – shouldn’t be peeled or seeded. For the most part, the smaller tomatoes have a natural sweetness and you can make the most delicious fresh tomato sauce because they blister and yield their juices under high heat and then they naturally thicken. All you have to do is help by adding fresh herbs, some salt and pepper.
I was channel surfing one morning and came across Rachel Ray making a shrimp dish that caught my eye. It also caught my taste buds because she wrapped the shrimp in pancetta (Italian-style bacon). Then she made a fresh tomato sauce using cherry tomatoes, letting them blister, burst and yield their sweet juices by cooking them over high heat in the pancetta fat.
This dish has become one of my new favorites. It’s simple and it can be made in well under 30 minutes. I recently served it as an appetizer for a multi-course meal and actually gave all of the credit to Rachel, much to the shock of my diners.
Rachel Ray is a talented cook, no doubt, and she’s worth gazillions of dollars now thanks to “30 Minute Meals” on the Food Network and her talk show, backed by Oprah, but I’ve never really been a big fan of her cooking style. Too much pasta. Too many hamburgers.
But I owe her a debt of thanks for this recipe. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. Here’s my interpretation of her recipe, sized for an appetizer portion for four:
12 large shrimp, peeled (tails off, too) and deveined
6 pieces pancetta (Italian-style bacon)*
1 lb. grape tomatoes
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut each pancetta slice in half and wrap around each of the shrimp. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the wrapped shrimp until the pancetta is browned and the shrimp are just cooked through.
Remove the wrapped shrimp and set aside on a plate, covered loosely with foil. Put the tomatoes in the same skillet, with salt and pepper, cover and let cook for about five minutes, until the tomatoes blister and burst open. Uncover and add dried herbs, red pepper flakes and tomato paste, stir to incorporate.
Cook the sauce uncovered until reduced and thickened. Stir in shrimp just to coat with the sauce and cook until warmed through.
*You can use prosciutto if you cannot find pancetta. If so, add about a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan before cooking wrapped shrimp.