We can thank the French, as usual, for turning a normally very ordinary word, albeit perhaps unintentionally, into something a little saucier. Whether calling tomatoes “pommes d’amour” (love apples) because of a linguistic slip up or because of its association with the aphrodisiac qualities of the mandrake plant, it certainly holds more interest than the Aztec-inspired word, tomato.
Contrary to popular belief, love apples don’t like fridges. They are warm season fruits, so if you leave them at room temperature their flavour will develop naturally. If you’re in a hurry for one to ripen, a neat trick is to pop it in a covered bowl with an apple. Most people don’t peel tomatoes because it’s not an easy thing to do … or is it? If you drop them into boiling water for a few seconds and then immediately into ice water, their skin will all but fall off. Give it a try!
Tomato and Basil Pasta
Ingredients:
375g dried spaghetti
2 tbsp. olive oil
½ small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
Cherry tomatoes, fresh from the garden
400g tomato based pasta sauce, flavour of your choice
1 tsp castor sugar
2 tbsp. shredded fresh basil leaves
Preparation:
1 Cook pasta and drain.
2 Heat the oil in a big, deep frying pan on medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so and then add the pasta sauce and sugar. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until it thickens slightly.
3 Put the basil, tomatoes, pasta and sauce in a big serving bowl and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Salmon with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients:
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 ½ tsps. fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Olive oil non-stick spray
2 (30g) salmon fillets (about 2.5cm thick)
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
Preparation:
1 Preheat oven to 200°
2 Coat a baking tray with the olive oil non-stick spray.
3 Mix the thyme, olive oil, garlic and spices together and toss the cherry tomatoes in it to coat them.
4 Pour the tomatoes and sauce out onto the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.
5 Add the fish to the baking tray and bake for another 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
6 Serve with the tomato mixture poured over the fish and drizzle with the lemon juice.
For more information on bringing life to your garden, visit the Life is a Garden website or join the conversation on their Facebook page.
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