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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
What's better than a summer tomato? Make these easy peak-of-season recipes
There comes a moment every year around mid-August when the days are noticeably shorter and the reality hits: I gotta start eating more tomatoes! For the first half of my life, tomatoes were the one food I truly could not stand. When we dined out, I looked for the weirdest thing I could find on the menu and ordered that. At home, I requested liver and onions. But a tomato? Even the memory of a slice on a sandwich, one lonely seed or a speck of the mush that encased it, made me gag. That changed in my mid-twenties when I tasted my first 'real' tomato from a farmer's market. It was, again, August, and the tomato was a big, lumpy, misshapen thing, an off-shade of red, with a thin skin, a firm, meaty texture and all the flavor I presume a tomato is supposed to have. I'm not going to sit here and try to describe the flavor of a tomato for you. It's summer in Southern California. Go buy one! The tomato that blew my mind was an heirloom, which refers to tomatoes grown from seeds that have been passed down through the generations. They're, as my mom would say, the 'real deal.' (Many heirloom tomatoes marketed as 'heirloom' in grocery stores aren't really that.) Heirlooms are the pinnacle of tomato greatness, but any good summer tomato, such as a beefsteak tomato, Early Girl or Sungold, is something to celebrate — and savor. When you see them, buy them. Like a good vintage find: My rule of thumb is buy what you love and figure out what to do with it later. For me, what to do with it often includes using the tomatoes in a quick and easy Greek-inspired salad of wedged tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes with Persian cucumber, sliced red onion, fresh parsley, mint or both, crumbled feta, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt. To make it a meal, add a can of garbanzo beans or Garlic Croutons. BLTs, as far as I'm concerned, are a summer food. So when the first heirlooms make their way home, I make my first BLT sandwiches. I make them on sliced country bread, toasted, slathered with good mayo, meaty thick-sliced bacon (my favorite these days is Trader Joe's black forest bacon), a leaf or two of lettuce (butter lettuce is my preference) and a big slab of heirloom tomato, salted. (If it's not the best BLT you've ever had, let me know what is.) One of my favorite things to do with the giant lumpy heirlooms is to slice them, lay them on a platter, drizzle them with oil, sprinkle them with salt and, from there, any number of things can happen. I might dress a big bowl of arugula and pile it on top. Or spoon tuna salad over the tomatoes. (That could be regular ol' American style or chunks of Italian tuna mixed with sliced red onion and parsley.) I discovered the magic of shell beans on tomatoes such as simple stewed white beans or borlotti beans while doing a weeklong internship at Chez Panisse (yes, it was August) and fresh basil or Nancy Silverton's Shell Bean Salad. Nothing about Grilled Sardines With White Bean Salad And Pesto, for me, wouldn't be better on a bed of heirloom tomatoes. And instead of a traditional Caprese made of sliced tomatoes layered with sliced mozzarella (Ti amo, Italia, but can we mix it up a bit?), I add spoonfuls of fresh burrata and a sprinkling of fresh basil leaves. Any of these would make a light meal, and even better with Buttery Garlic Bread on the side. I love that former L.A. Times Food editor Russ Parsons turns that simple platter of heirlooms into a recipe, and not just a shopping list, by putting pickled shallots on top — and that he mentions my all-time favorite name for a tomato: Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter, so named, so the story goes, because selling the seeds enabled this radiator repair guy, Charlie, to pay off his mortgage. Not all heirloom tomatoes have such colorful names, but they are just as colorful — they come in a rainbow of shades of pink, yellow, orange, green and striped — and like all heirlooms, they have a story. In a world where nearly anything and everything is at your access at all time, there's something nice about a thin-skinned, lumpy, misshapen tomato that tastes as it did 100 years ago. Something that doesn't travel. Has a shelf life of a fish out of water. And that, like fresh powder or Christmas, you have to wait all year long for. Something for which there really is no substitute and that, like rainbows, cannot be recreated. That's what makes them special. You just can't get it when you can't get it. So when you can, do! As the saying goes: Carpe freaking tomato! Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes to get our restaurant experts' insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they're dining right now. American-born Florence-adopted Italian food aficionado Faith Willinger passes the tomatoes through a strainer to remove the seeds, leaving only the sweet pulp and juice for this silky, luxurious tomato salad. Serve it with toasted bread doused in olive oil and burrata or mozzarella on the side. Talk about a girl the recipe. Serves 6 to 8. Cooking time: 15 minutes. Pan con tomate is a simple Spanish delight that consists of toasted bread smeared with the insides of a (really good) tomato. This recipe suggests that the tomato is 'gently' rubbed on the toast. The way I've been taught to make it, and the way I recommend, is that you rub the tomato on the toast until all the delicious pulp is on or in the toast and the only thing left in your hand is its thin the 1 or 2. Cooking time: 10 minutes. Heirloom tomato season for me always means summer spaghetti. This recipe closely reflects how I make mine. Skip the step of skinning the tomatoes because heirloom tomatoes have thin skins. I toss the pasta in the same bowl the chopped tomatoes are in. This version is served cold. I like it the 4. Cooking time: 20 minutes. This salad from L.A.'s 'chicken chef' Josiah Citrin couldn't be simpler — and if you buy the roasted chicken instead of roasting it — which (shhh!) I would — it requires no heat. Just to go overboard with the tomatoes, I'd serve it on a bed of sliced heirlooms. And if I were looking to beef it up, I'd add some white beans — and why not double down on the basil while you're at the recipe. Serves 2. Cooking time: 25 minutes. Russ Parsons managed to turn a simple platter of sliced heirloom tomatoes into a recipe (and not just a shopping list) by putting pickled shallots on top. With goat cheese toast, it's a midsummer night's the recipe. Serves 4 to 6. Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes. If you remember Hungry Cat, the casual seafood-forward restaurant by chef David Lentz, you probably also remember its tomato and watermelon salad. Dressed with a sweet watermelon vinaigrette and topped with peppery arugula, it's summertime on a the 4. Cooking time: 40 minutes. Preserve the flavor of summer with this tomato conserva from chef Paul Bertolli's game-changing book Cooking by Hand. Spoon it into pasta sauce, risotto, soups, braises and stews. This recipe calls for 5 pounds of tomatoes, so it's the recipe if you find yourself with a farmers market haul that is quickly over-ripening, or if you've grown your own and have more than you know what to do the 1¼ cups. Cooking time: 20 minutes.
Daily Mirror
22-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Gardening expert shares one thing people can do to get tomatoes to ripen earlier
Gardening expert James Prigioni says impatient gardeners can fast-track their tomato crop not by adding something, but by taking something away, to get them to ripen more quickly For gardeners, there's nothing quite like the joy and cost-saving of growing your own vegetables. Yet, the wait for home-grown produce to reach the dinner plate can test one's patience. James Prigioni from The Gardening Channel has a tip for those eager to speed up their tomato harvest – and it's all about what you remove, not add. James emphasises the importance of recognising whether your tomatoes are Determinate or Indeterminate before you start snipping away. He explained: "Pruning has some major benefits, especially when it comes to ripening. Tomatoes that are pruned tend to produce fruit 2 weeks earlier than ones that aren't pruned." Determinate tomatoes, also known as bush tomatoes, grow to a set height and yield a single batch of fruit before ceasing growth, whereas Indeterminate varieties keep on growing and fruiting until the cold snap hits. Among the well-known Indeterminate tomato types are Beefsteak, Big Boy, Brandywine, Sungold, and Sweet Million, while their Determinate counterparts include Roma, Celebrity, and San Marzano Nano. On an Indeterminate tomato plant, James showcased his pruning method: "We want to prune our plants to a single stem." James clarifies: "The reason we do this, is because when we prune our plants, we are redirecting the energy from growing leaves and new shoots over to the production of fruit and the ripening of that fruit. "It's like we choose to make the plant focus on fruit instead of on the leaves because that's what we want." If you neglect to prune your tomatoes, James cautions, you'll be left with a lush, leafy plant that doesn't yield much fruit: "In my opinion, I'd rather have a tomato trellis loaded with fruit," he says. Letting your tomato plants grow into a bush can lead to issues beyond a lack of fruit, James points out: "When it comes to indeterminate tomatoes, being bushy like this isn't ideal because it makes it much more susceptible to disease issues and the tomatoes ripen slower." James, who hails from the US, notes that 2025 has been particularly challenging for early blight, so he's opted for the cherry bomb variety, which he touts as having "bomb-proof resistance and disease resistance to early blight." Over here in the UK, some favoured blight-resistant varieties include Crimson Crush, Fantasio and Sungold. James advises that, regardless of the variety you select, a pruned plant will benefit from improved airflow and light penetration, which aids in warding off diseases. This, in turn, will help your plants ripen tomatoes quicker.
Time Out
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
This Brooklyn bar turns viral Dubai chocolate into a boozy cocktail
Some trends are just too delicious to resist. Most recently, Dubai chocolate has captivated sweets lovers across the globe, drowning social media feeds and emptying wallets everywhere. Already, there are a half dozen places to find Dubai chocolate in NYC. The viral, pistachio-and-phyllo–flecked confection even inspired Sweet Graffiti bakery to add a Middle Eastern twist to their menu, lacing vanilla soft-serve ice cream with Dubai-style chocolate sauce, pistachio cream, and toasted kataifi. Now, another, much boozier rendition has debuted the Arlo Williamsburg: the 'Dubai Me A Drink' cocktail. Sip your dessert by sidling up to the bar at Sungold, the Italian leaning, seasonally-driven restaurant set inside the Brooklyn hotel. Rather than replicate the original Arabic treat, mixologist Armando Acevedo made it his own, infusing his spiked interpretation with nostalgic, high-impact flavors. The creamy, dreamy 'Dubai Me A Drink' swirls 100-percent American corn vodka with house-made pistachio cream, rich chocolate liqueur, cacao bitters, roasted pistachios and a luxurious hint of saffron. To mimic the dazzling, green and gold bars first created by Emirati Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai, curvy coup glasses are embellished with generous swipes of chocolate and showering of crispy kataifi (shredded phyllo). The textural contrasts in this cocktail are deliciously thrilling — we can't wait to taste it alongside one of the restaurant's decadent desserts, like Orange Blossom panna cotta or flourless chocolate terrine with raspberry gelato.
Eater
12-06-2025
- Business
- Eater
First Look at Italian Restaurant Cane Pazzo in Hanahan
Former Indaco chef Mark Bolchoz opens his own Italian establishment Jun 12, 2025, 10:56 AM UTC Downtown Charleston isn't the only Lowcountry city experiencing a rise in Italian restaurants — Hanahan is getting in the game too with the opening of Cane Pazzo on Friday, June 13. Former Indaco chef and Indigo Road culinary director Mark Bolchoz, who resides in the area with his wife and restaurant co-owner, Ariana Bolchoz, will bring traditional osteria vibes, focusing on Lowcountry products and produce. 'I feel like opening Cane Pazzo is a culmination of my life so far,' says Mark,' It's been about 18 years in the making. I'm super excited.' The menu is seasonal, so catch ever-changing dishes like ricotta triangoli with Sungold tomato sauce or corn and pepper risotto while it's still available. The offerings range from well-worn starters, such as meatballs and crispy mozzarella, to various pasta dishes, and then a few protein-heavy plates, including pan-seared fish and ribeye with a garlic compound butter. Cane Pazzo is designed to be a neighborhood restaurant, and the dining room embodies a laid-back, convivial atmosphere. At 1276 Yeamans Hall Road, you'll find classic Italian restaurant features like black-and-white family photos on the walls, leather banquettes, and a wood-fired oven that anchors the space. Take a look around the space here before the opening. Cane Pazzo will open Tuesday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. See More: Charleston Restaurant Openings
