If, at any time, during your grocery shopping you have the opportunity to buy a nice selection of tomatoes, don't stop yourself! In season, sun-ripened tomatoes are fairly cheap but can make an exquisite appetizer or side salad.

This was my harvest from my visit to the Rotterdam Saturday market. A beautiful selection of ingredients. Previously I posted about artichokes, but for now we will focus on the tomatoes.

Two secrets about tomato salads: make them at least half an hour before serving, and make sure the salad is cool (not cold). This will bring the taste out even more.

Cut up tomatoes of different varieties (not too fine, and in wedges, slices, chunks and whatever else is your favorite), mix them together in a big bowl with some vinegar (balsamic vinegar preferably), freshly ground black pepper and some salt. Add herbs, such as chopped flatleaf parsley. Stir a few times before serving, so the flavors will blend together.

If you want to spice up your salad, you could add some finely chopped garlic and finely sliced white or yellow onion or finely chopped chalot. Or add some anchovies. Or capers, goat cheese, whichever will match the rest of your dinner! 

Tip

If you want your tomatoes to stay tasty, do not store them in the refrigerator.

More about Tomatoes

Tomatoes are an interesting vegetable or actually: a fruit, which caused Milton Kington to coin this phrase:

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." 

There are many natural varieties, and there is a constant flow of newly developed varieties as well. Tomatoes are versatile: in salads, as described above, in a soup, stuffed, or as a base for a red sauce. Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are technically berries and a member of the nightshade family. Other members of this family include (bell and chili) pepper, egg plant and, strangely enough, tobacco. Tomatoes were first found (as far as we know now) on the West Coast of South America.

The color of tomatoes is determined by the carotenoids it contains.

Tomatoes have a unique taste, that is both sweet and acidic at the same time. Compared to other fruit tomatoes contain only few percent of sugar. The acidic component of the taste comes from the glutamine acid they contain.

These tomato-based ingredients should always be in ample supply in your pantry:

1. Canned Tomatoes (whole, cubed or pulp)
2. Tomato paste
3. Sundried tomatoes (fully dried or semi-dried)
4. Tomato ketchup.

My favorite tomato variety is Coeur de Boeuf ("Beef Heart" or Heirloom tomatoes). They ripen from the inside out and are very firm and tasty.