The lowly, lovely, luscious tomato

The tomato originated in the Andes, was domesticated in Mexico, and was brought to Europe in the 16th century by the conquistadores (along with other vegetables it's hard to imagine doing without like beans, corn, squash, potatoes, and peppers). It belongs to the nightshade family, which also includes potato, bell pepper, tobacco and deadly nightshade. Because of its family links, many people thought that it was poisonous and refused to eat it (except for in Italy where it early caught hold), and in America some folks still refused to trust it until the turn of the 20th century. Today, though, they're second only to the potato in annual consumption in the US.

Botanically speaking, the tomato is a fruit (according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a fruit is "the edible product of a plant or tree, consisting of the seed and its envelope, esp. the latter when it is of a juicy pulpy nature, as in the apple, orange, plum, etc."). In the late 19th century, a clever tomato importer realized that fruits were not subject to the same tariffs that vegetables were and tried to import tomatoes as "fruit." The ensuing case went all the way to the US Supreme Court, who ruled that, though a botanical fruit, the tomato is a culinary vegetable, because it is "usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meat, which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits, generally as dessert." In other words, it's not sweet.

Here is my very favorite tomato recipe I discovered last year in Alice Water's wonderful cookbook Chez Panisse Vegetables. It's only worth making with fully-ripe garden tomatoes, especially heirloom varieties.

Chilled Tomato Soup

4 lbs ripe tomatoes
2 Tb salt
1 small cucumber
2 stalks celery
3 shallots
White wine vinegar

Cut the tomatoes in quarters, put them in a bowl, add all the salt, and mix well. Peel and seed the cucumber, clean the celery, and peel the shallots. Cut them all into very fine dice. Put the shallots in a small bowl, add just enough of the vinegar to cover, and set aside.

After about half an hour the salt will have softened the tomatoes. Mash them with a wooden spoon and work them through a food mill to obtain a thick tomato juice. Add the shallots, celery, and cucumber. Season to taste with salt and vinegar. (Add balsamic vinegar if the tomatoes need a little sweetness.) Refrigerate over ice and serve well-chilled.

For a richer and spicier soup, add olive oil and mashed garlic to the tomato base and garnish with chopped bell peppers.

Reprinted with permission from Orange Bicycle