I by no means know which tomatoes (contemporary, tinned and so on) to make use of for what. Assist!
Rob, London E11
You’re actually taking a look at 5 choices, Rob: contemporary, tinned, passata (pureed and sieved tomato sauce), focus (or puree) and sun-dried. Let’s park sun-dried tomatoes, as a result of, as Jacob Kenedy, chef-owner of Bocca di Lupo in London, notes, they’re extra a “standalone ingredient, so eat as is or chop and put via one thing”. Contemporary, nonetheless, are in season now, and their high quality will depend upon the place you reside and the place you’re shopping for them. “If I’m in a scorching nation, the place they’ve actually good tomatoes, I have a tendency virtually completely to make use of contemporary, whether or not they’re for a salad, sauce or stew,” Kenedy says. Within the UK, nonetheless, “it’s tougher to get these flavoursome tomatoes, particularly on the grocery store”.
There are, in fact, eventualities the place solely contemporary will do. Sophia Massarella, who’s behind Polentina in east London, places “good, fats, juicy Sorrento tomatoes from Campania” to work in pomodori col riso (tomatoes filled with rice and herbs), salads (“panzanella is wonderful made with these, bull’s coronary heart or heirloom British tomatoes’’) and sauces. “Over the summer season, I all the time make a sauce with contemporary and tinned tomatoes for parmigiana,” she says, explaining that the tinned convey “a little bit of savoury, whereas simply contemporary alone will be too candy”.
Basically, Kenedy says, if you happen to’re cooking and decreasing a sauce, “except you’re extraordinarily fortunate and may get actually good contemporary tomatoes, or develop your personal, you’ll typically be higher off with one thing from a tin, jar or tube”.
In terms of tins, there’s a frequent college of thought that complete plum tomatoes are the perfect wager. Massarella agrees: “Use peeled complete ones, as a result of their texture stays nicer, and you may all the time crush them up later, anyway.” Kenedy, in the meantime, reserves complete tinned tomatoes for when he needs them to “just about disappear right into a dish”, in any other case he goes for chopped – however not those blended with, say, herbs or garlic: “Keep away from these just like the plague, as a result of they’re cooked to shit and style muddy.” Both means, he recommends cooking them proper down: “In the event that they’re for tomato sauce, till the oil rises, or till they’re fairly dry – you possibly can all the time rehydrate them with water.”
Deciding between tinned and passata, in the meantime, is extra a query of texture. “Passata is easy, so if you happen to’re making soup, you received’t should mix it,” Kenedy says. “And if you happen to’re making a sauce and wish it to have little bits in, go for tinned.” The principle factor to recollect about passata is that it’ll add bulk and dilute no matter it’s you’re cooking, so if you happen to’re extra out there for a kick of tomato flavour with out the liquid – in a stew situation, as an illustration – go for focus as an alternative.
The world of tins and tubes is, admittedly, huge, and takes some navigating. “When you’re in a grocery store, you will be guided a bit by worth,” Kenedy says. “In a smaller retail atmosphere, ask the individuals who work there, which is what I do.” In line with Massarella, a protected selection can be the Antonella model from Sardinia, although they do come at a premium (£2.80 a tin, versus about 60p for grocery store own-brand ones): “Their tinned tomatoes and passata are unbelievable and have a pleasant acidity, so that you by no means have so as to add sugar.” Candy.
