Tomato as we all know it today is not what it used to be, it’s hard to believe that this common food was once considered a poison in colonial times. It was thought that eating this will turn the person’s blood into acid and thus would lead to death. During colonial time it was grown for food decoration rather than eating purpose.
Although French considered this as a healthy food and also named it ‘pomme d’amour’ meaning ‘apple of love’, Italians call it ‘pomodoro’ meaning ‘golden apple’. The reason for the bad reputation of tomatoes is related to its resemblance to deadly nightshade. They resemble so much that they were mistaken for each other. But you can’t keep some one’s reputation down because of some misconception and thus the taste of tomatoes compelled the culinary world and thus secured its place in almost all the foods that we eat nowadays.
To talk about the health benefits, intake of tomatoes has long been linked to heart health. Fresh tomatoes and extracts have been shown to help lower total cholesterol level also they are an excellent source of vitamin C which is necessary for our overall wellbeing.
Beefsteak and beef master tomatoes are among the largest-sized varieties grown. Roma tomatoes are more of an intermediate size, while cherry and grape tomatoes are small and rounded. La Tomatina is a Spanish festival that is held in the Valencian town of Bunol, a town located 30km from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in this tomato fight purely for fun. It is held on the last Wednesday of August, during the week of festivities of Bunol, Spain.
Tomato and shrimp soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
Tomato 750g
Shrimps 100g
Carrot 1 no
Celery 1 stick
Onion 1 no
Garlic 3 cloves
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Mint leaves 2-3 sprigs
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Garnish
Brocolli 50g
Asparagus 3-4 sprig
Mushroom 4-5 no
Method
Peel and roughly chop onion, garlic, celery and carrots and tomato.
In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat oil and add all the chopped ingredients and mix well.
Allow to cook for 10-15 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
Add 1.5 litres stock or water as available and bring to boil.
Reduce the flame and simmer over low flame and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from flame and blend the soup using a hand blender or liquidiser until smooth.
Return to flame and adjust the seasoning, and add mint leaves.
Marinate shrimps with salt, pepper and olive oil, and skewer on a wooden stick.
Grill on a hot plate till cooked.
Cut broccoli, asparagus and mushroom in small size, boil and garnish in soup plate.
Place shrimp skewer on side and serve the soup piping hot.
Panna cotta
Panna cotta is an Italian dessert known for its simple yet delicious preparation. The name denotes cooked cream in Italian language. Originated mainly from north Italy, it involves milk, cream, sugar or honey and flavourings cooked together briefly and then thickened by gelatin and is served chilled.
Addition of gelatin differentiates it from the European desserts which mainly rely on eggs for their firmness. The thing which needs to be kept in mind is to allow the panna cotta to set in the mould otherwise while demoulding, the panna cotta will be deformed.
The basic recipe of panna cotta produces a very light and delicate taste. It is often dressed up with fruit fillings and sauces. Also you can serve panna cotta topped with a dollop of jam to keep things simple yet give it a better taste. You can also combine two or more flavours to your panna cotta to make your own flavour. Vegetarians can substitute gelatin with agar-agar, a seaweed derivative, and still enjoy the goodness of this delectable dessert.
Orange panna cotta
Serves 4
Ingredients
Milk 400ml
Cream 250ml
Honey 50g
Gelatin powder 20g
Orange filling 100g
Mint leaves 4-5 no
Garnish
Mint leaves few no
Orange segments to garnish
Method
Combine milk, cream and honey in a heavy bottom pan and bring to boil and remove from flame.
Dissolve gelatin in hot water separately and add to the above mixture and stir.
Add orange filling and chopped mint leaves, stir well to combine.
Pour in the ramekin mould and allow to set in a refrigerator for 2 hours.
Demould in plate or serve cold in ramekin bowl.
Garnish with mint leaves and orange segments.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
[email protected]