Totally tomatoes

by Ari LeVaux

Tomatoes are the locavore’s original talking point. No other fruit or vegetable is as starkly inferior to its local counterpart as a long-distance tomato, most of which are picked green and gassed with ethylene to turn red. Even the most committed industrial agriculture supporter, with his quiver full of calculations about the economics of scale, will concede that a tomato picked off the vine will beat the marinara out of a tomato picked too early in some faraway place and trucked to your local store. This reality was what prompted the creation of the first genetically modified food ever to hit the market, in 1994, the Flavr Savr tomato. Designed to degrade more slowly after being picked, it could be ripened on the vine but was ultimately discontinued. Meanwhile, with the exposure of the working conditions in Florida’s tomato fields, and elsewhere, tomatoes have become poster children for the efficiencies of the industrial agriculture at the expense of workers’ rights.

And here we are in tomato season, but even the converted are not on the same page. There has been a long-running divide among foodies over whether it’s a sin to put them in the fridge. Michael Pollan has named “tomatoes that have been refrigerated” on his short list of foods he won’t eat. The debate was put to rest, hopefully, when the nerds (meant in the best possible sense) at Serious Eats embarked on what became a three-part, bi-coastal investigative series on whether or not it’s true that a tomato should never go in the fridge. It’s worth reading the whole thing, as it’s a nuanced question that goes beyond yes or no. But the Cliff Notes version is that a tomato that was picked too early should not go in the fridge, while a vine-ripened tomato can, and should, before it goes bad.

In honor of tomato season, here are two ways to eat them, both of which can double as storage forms, so that you can eat tasty, local tomatoes in winter.

This recipe for chili sauce comes from my friend Allen Broach in Greensboro, N.C., who lives on a 5,000-acre family plantation named Vesuvius. Broach’s great-great grandfather Madison Smith, who owned the plantation during the Civil War, grew everything he needed to feed the 70-odd people who lived there. The recipe, used by his great-great grandmother, Luzetta Mundy Smith, on his mom’s side, “is basically spicy catsup,” Broach told me.

The recipe Broach sent me uses canned tomatoes, but I’ve made it with fresh tomatoes and it works great. If they are extra juicy it might take longer to cook down. I used San Marzano paste tomatoes, without problem.

Ma Ma’s Chili Sauce

4 quarts canned (drained) or fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 rounded tbsp whole mixed pickling spices, tied in 5x5-inch square of cheesecloth, and crushed with a mallet

2 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper (Broach admits to using a lot more)

1 cup sugar

¾ cup dark vinegar (I used cider)

5 medium onions, chopped

1 or 2 pods hot pepper (optional, but recommended)

Add everything to a thick-bottomed pot and cook on low/medium for 2 to 3 hours, stirring often. Occasionally mash the bag of spices to release flavors. “Don’t hurry with this sauce,” Broach cautioned. “Mama was a very patient person and cook.” Pour into sterilized jars, process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. “Best I’ve ever eaten on a biscuit. There’s never been another Ma Ma’s sauce.”

The next recipe is for shakshukam a Middle Eastern tomato and egg-based dish that is popular throughout the region. In Israel there is a popular Libyan restaurant called Dr. Shakshouka that specializes in the dish. If it were my restaurant I would have called it the Shuka Shack, but that’s just me. Dr. Shakshuka is still pretty cool. It sounds like your extra-cool grade school teacher, or maybe a dance craze. At Dr. Shakshuka you can order the signature dish either plain, or with extras like meat or mushrooms. The Shakshuka method that follows is my rendition, drawn from several recipes I’ve messed around with.

Shakshuka

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped or cut into 8 wedges

1 or more cloves garlic, minced or grated

1 red bell pepper, chopped coarsely

4 cups ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste, or a ¼ cup tomato passata (blended, strained tomato)

1 tsp chili powder (mild)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

2-inch stick of cinnamon

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Other peppers, like jalapeños, yellow wax, etc. Diversity of peppers adds depth and complexity

Salt and pepper to taste

Eggs, as many as you feel like eating. These quantities can easily accommodate six

1/2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley to garnish

Other options: olives, minced anchovies or a squirt of fish sauce.

Sauté the onions in oil with the cinnamon stick until translucent. Add the garlic, then bell pepper, and other peppers if using. After about 10 minutes, add tomatoes and tomato paste/passata. Bring to a simmer, add the other spices, and salt/pepper/cayenne to taste. Cover and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Then crack your eggs in and continue simmering with the lid off until the eggs are done to your satisfaction. You may want to put the lid back on if you want the tops over-easy style. Garnish with parsley and serve.

If you want to preserve some Shakshuka for winter, don’t add the eggs, and pour it into sterilized jars, close with sterilized lids and rings, and process for 10 minutes in a water bath. Then you can rock your shakshuka all winter long.