An ode to the tomato
Once, I was at a housemate viewing and was asked: if you were a type of vegetable or fruit, which one would you be and why? Ha, easy. The tomato, of course! That answer became very literal because at that moment I turned as red as a tomato – my almost transparent skin hides nothing – but besides that, I simply don’t think there’s anything in the world that tastes better than tomatoes. Honestly.
You know those videos where you see people eating bell peppers or onions as if they were apples? I do that too, but with vine tomatoes. I can eat a bowl of cherry tomatoes in a minute, and ideally I’d eat pasta with tomato sauce every day. Tomatoes have been my signature snack, my red desire, my addiction my entire life. So here it is: my ode to the tomato. Or, why I love tomatoes from my head to-ma-toes.
Super healthy
Addictions aren’t often healthy. My tomato addiction is. Tomatoes are incredibly healthy: they contain loads of vitamin C, help keep your blood pressure under control and support strong bones. A nice bonus: they give you beautiful skin. I like to believe that my wrinkle-free existence (so far) has something to do with the kilos of tomatoes I’ve eaten.
Incredibly versatile
I don’t think there’s a type of fruit (technically, that’s what they are!) as versatile as the tomato. You can snack on them, add them to salads and use them in sauces. They can be eaten raw, heated in the oven or fried in a pan. You can also use preserved tomatoes, such as canned tomatoes and tomato purée in literally 1,001 ways. You can’t think of a recipe so crazy that tomato wouldn’t work in it. Tip: this is how to cut tomatoes best, whatever preparation you have in mind.
Perfect for Italian cuisine: my favorite
If I were to move for the food, it would be to Italy. Without hesitation, I’d never eat stamppot again for the rest of my life, devoting myself entirely to pasta – with tomato sauce – (with this trick, you’ll make a killer tomato sauce every time!). And if you really made me choose, I’d make nothing but spaghetti bolognese and caprese salad every day. Oh, and these warm sandwiches with tomato, feta, za’atar and olives! All day, every day.
Available in all kinds of varieties
For anyone who thought cherry tomatoes and vine tomatoes covered it, nah-ah. Tomatoes come in all kinds of varieties, sizes and colors. From large beefsteak tomatoes to small, sweet honey tomatoes, from red to orange and yellow, from round to oval. And what about sun-dried tomatoes? This recipe for ravioli with broccoli, sun-dried tomato, anchovy and ricotta is to die for.
Available to eat all year round
My tomato addiction can continue all year round, because they’re available throughout the year. And importantly: they’re delicious all year round. Wonderful in a cold salad in summer, in a steaming lasagna with tomato sauce in winter. Did you know you can also freeze tomatoes really well? So you can truly have them at home 24/7.
Simply insanely delicious
And then the final (but most important) reason why I love tomatoes so incredibly much: they’re simply insanely delicious. The sweet taste, the texture (that explosion when you bite into a cherry tomato: YES), the freshness. And the fact that the flavor of tomato goes incredibly well with everything else I find addictively delicious, namely pasta, mozzarella, olive oil and basil.
I’m seriously realizing now that I live in the wrong country.
Also read:
