At the beginning of the month there was just the tiniest trickle of tomatoes. One of the earliest varieties is the aptly named “Fourth of July.” The tomatoes from this plant are small — about the size of a golf ball — but provide a true taste of summer flavor. The trickle has now widened into a thin but steady stream of cherry and small plum tomatoes. It seems we can never get enough at first. I keep a bowl full on the kitchen table, and we snack on them throughout the day.
But things are about to change. Every day my husband comes in from his evening tour of the garden shaking his head: “There’s a ton of tomatoes out there,” he’ll say. “They’re all still green and they’ll probably all start ripening at once.” There’s an almost breathless sense of anticipation waiting for the inevitable flood. It’s a combination of excitement about the coming bounty mixed with a hint of dread at having to cope with it.
The flood is more colorful and varied than it used to be. Growing up on an organic-produce farm (my grandfather’s retirement project run amok), I’m a veteran of the tomato flood, as is my husband, who inevitably got sucked in when we married. We planted, caged, and tied thousands of plants by hand. We picked, wiped, and boxed tens of thousands of tomatoes, sold them at our stand, and took them to market. We helped my grandmother can countless jars of whole tomatoes and her prize-winning chilli sauce. Almost all of the tomatoes were red, round, and baseball- to softball-size. There was a lonely row of yellows and pinks with cherry-tomato plants at the end, but my grandfather’s preferred tomato was a hybrid developed by Heinz for use in ketchup. Juicy and bursting with flavor, it was bred for taste rather than for portability, unlike most commercial hybrids. We had no idea of the incredible range of colors, shapes, sizes, and tastes that were out there waiting to be rediscovered.
I don’t know exactly what sparked the resurgence of heirloom tomatoes. It’s part of a larger trend pursued by farmers, gardeners, and cooks whose priorities for all vegetables are flavor and variety rather than long-term storage, uniform appearance, and high yield. I do know that heirloom tomatoes make the tomato flood season infinitely more interesting.
There are Currant tomatoes, which grow, small as blueberries, in grapelike clusters, and then there are Oxheart tomatoes, which can weigh more than 2 pounds. There are Green Zebra tomatoes, striped with yellow and green when fully ripe. The Banana Legs looks just as it sounds. There’s the gorgeous variety — known variously as Big Rainbow, Mr. Stripey, or Striped German — that looks like a tropical sunset when sliced, its golden-yellow flesh shot through with hot pink, red, and orange. There are white tomatoes and several varieties of black tomatoes (actually a brownish red), so delicious that they’re inevitably preferred by the rabbits in our garden. There are hollow tomatoes that look like red and yellow bell peppers and are perfect for stuffing. There’s even a peach-colored variety with fuzzy skin. Many have names that hint at a story, such as Aunt Ruby’s German Green and the Mortgage Lifter.
As more and more heirloom tomatoes make their appearance in gardens and at the farmers’ market, you can assemble a platter that is as much of a treat to the eye as it is to the palate. You can also use them to prepare a simple pasta, which takes just minutes to prepare and sings of summer.
Pasta with fresh tomatoes and Brie
Ingredients
3 cups coarsely chopped, seeded tomatoes (peeled, if desired)
1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
8 ounces Brie
1/4 cup extravirgin olive oil
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon garlic
3/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves, loosely packed
Freshly ground pepper and additional salt if needed
1 pound dried bite-size pasta such as penne, rigatoni, or orchiette
Instructions
Use the most flavorful tomatoes available. A variety of colors is attractive. Put the chopped tomato in a sieve and toss it with the tablespoon of salt. Let the tomato drain for 15 minutes, then place it in a serving bowl large enough to accommodate the pasta when finished.
Use Brie with the rind on or off, or just trim the thicker parts. A total of 8 ounces is needed, so if the rind has been completely removed, start with 12 ounces. Cut it into cubes, add it to the tomatoes, and stir in the garlic, olive oil, half of the basil, and the pepper. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it outside in the hot sun or place it, uncovered, in an oven turned to the lowest setting while the pasta cooks.
Cook the pasta just until al dente (usually one or two minutes less than the package directions indicate). Add 1/2 cup of pasta-cooking water to the serving bowl, add the drained pasta, and toss to combine. Check the seasoning. Garnish with the remaining basil. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yields four to six servings
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2006.
