The local tomatoes are still piled in baskets at farm stands, whether large establishment, small roadside or front lawn makeshift. And the bushes in most gardens have not yet delivered their entire bounty.
There is still time. Another month (with luck) before the rich, ripe, winey crop disappears for good, to be replaced by the phony fruit from Florida.
And if crimson succulence is not enough, the local tomatoes are also reasonably priced. About 30 to 50 cents a pound. But with such a seasonal commodity, 10 or even 20 cents one way or the other should not matter.
Stop buying iceberg lettuce for the next four weeks (or forever for that matter) or potato chips and pretzels or baggies, if you must, and spend the saving on the local toma? toes. (Budget a little for corn, too.) If you are a year-round weekend person, tuck some in your baggage for mid-week sustenance. Until the hothouse beauties start arriving in May (and at 69 to 89 cents a pound) there will be no more tomatoes worth eating.
Plain tomatoes, sliced and salted, will do fine. Or a BLT with mayo. Or thick slices, sprinkled with oil and breadcrumbs to top broiled fish steaks during the last five minutes of cooking.
Or “Tomates Yemistes Me Rizi.” This from a book entitled “The Best Book of Greek Cookery” by Chrissa Paradissis. The book has merit and is quite complete but whether the superla? tive is deserved remains to be seen. It is published in Greece “specially written for foreigners.”
The following tomato recipe makes a good luncheon dish, an ample first course or an excellent side dish with simply prepared meat or poultry.
Stuffed Tomatoes With Rice (Tomates Yemistes Me Rizi)
8 medium-sized tomatoes (about 3 1/2" diameter)
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup olive oil (approx.)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup rice (uncooked)
1/2 cup currants
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
2 Tbsp. chopped mint or parsley
Salt and pepper
Dry breadcrumbs
Wash tomatoes and cut a thin slice from the stem end. Reserve slices. Scoop out pulp with a spoon and sprinkle two tablespoons of the sugar inside. Drain and chop tomato pulp. Heat half-cup of the olive oil in a frying pan and cook onion until soft.
Add the rice, stir well, and cook for a few minutes. Add half the tomato pulp, half cup hot water, the remaining sugar, the currants, pine nuts, mint or parsley, one and a half teaspoons salt and pepper.
Cover and cook for ten minutes. Taste for seasoning. Fill tomatoes about two-thirds full with rice mixture. Replace top slices and arrange in a shallow baking pan. Force the remaining tomato pulp through a sieve and pour into the pan, along with any leftover filling.
Pour two to three tablespoons oil over each tomato and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for one and a quarter to one and a half hours. Serve at room temperature. Serves eight.
