Harron Hallie - Tomatoes & Mozzarella: 100 Ways to Enjoy This Tantalizing Twosome All Year Long

The Harvard Common Press
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Boston, Massachusetts 02118
www.harvardcommonpress.com

Copyright 2006 by Hallie Harron and Shelley Sikora
Photographs copyright 2006 by Eskite Photography

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
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Printed in China
Printed on acid-free paper

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harron, Hallie.

Tomatoes & mozzarella : 100 ways to enjoy this tantalizing
twosome all year long / Hallie Harron and Shelley Sikora.
p. cm.
Includes index.

ISBN 1-55832-299-X (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Cookery (Tomatoes) 2. Cookery (Mozzarella cheese)
I. Sikora, Shelley. II. Title.
TX803.T6D66 2006
641.6'5642dc22

2005023814

ISBN-13: 978-1-55832-740-5 (pbk)

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Book design by rlf design

Photographer: Richard Eskite; photo assistant: Brad Ryder; producer: Juliann Harvey;
food styling: Andrea Lucich; food styling assistant: Caitlyn Hicks; prop styling: Carol Hacker

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To San Pasqual,
patron saint of all cooks and kitchens

HH

When two people come together and make magic out of two ingredients, the result is a cookbook that explodes with the passion of global cooking. It takes a village, though, and we want to thank all those who believed in our vision. Stacey Glick, our agent, always was a bright light throughout the project. Thank you to Mary Evans, dear friend and colleague, for eating tomatoes month after month, and for all the moral support every step of the way. Jay and Fran London, where would we be without your thoughtful comments and meticulous testing and retesting? And a big thank-you goes to Annette Ramseyer in Vaison-la Romaine, France, whose kitchen skills and advice were constantly welcome. Thanks to both of our husbands, Brian Harron and Bob Sikora, for constant support and for making our lives easier as we pushed along month after month. Thank you both for loving tomatoes and mozzarella as much as your wives do. Last, thank you to our inspirations, Shelley's mother, May Pino-Acquaro, with whom we wish we could still cook, her father, Phil, and Brooke Sikora, for their constant love and support.

Anyone who has ever tasted just-picked, juicy tomatoes still warm from the sun combined with soft, milky mozzarella knows without a shadow of a doubt that this is simply heaven on a fork. This divine match has pleased the Western world for generations. Over the past decade cooks all over the globe have discovered new ways to dress up these old soul mates. Decked out in global flavors and garnishes, cloaked in pastry, and accessorized in everything from soup to dessert, it's safe to say the world has gone way beyond the classic and simple pairing of the two in insalata Caprese.

Two's company, and it is hard to imagine two better-suited partners on a plate than mozzarella and tomatoes. We learned this firsthand while spending time in the City of Light. On some summer days, Paris can be compared to living in a steamy convection oven: it's hot, it's wet, and it burns. Appetites wane, and light salads and easy cooking are often the only possible meal choices. For us, one mozzarella salad at a local bistro followed another in a Parisian tea salon. Mozzarella and tomatoes were on the menu at the fancy neighborhood three-star restaurant. And so it went. Each experience brought different tomato varietals, presentations, and garnishes. Cool, warm, molded, layered, pureed: it was all tomatoes and mozzarella. As fall approached, late-harvest tomatoes fell into soups, casseroles, and gratins. Despite being in a different form, tomatoes and mozzarella were still everywhere. Arriving back home with bulging notebooks, we became determined to create a seductive volume on the beloved mozzarella-and-tomato marriage.

So read on, and be prepared to wrap your arms around all seasons and all forms of the famous fruit (yes, it's a fruit) and cheese. In the pages that follow, you'll wander the globe from the American Midwest to the Mediterranean Riviera, covering every time of the day from breakfast to late-night snacks, from January through December.

The recipes include everything from quick no-cook meals to dishes designed for the serious enthusiast who finds joy in quality time in the kitchen. The only prerequisite for this voyage is a consuming passion for Romas, heirlooms, cherries, and beefsteaks, not to mention bocconcini and ovalini. Beautiful, luscious tomatoes, that is, and creamy, soft, voluptuous mozzarella cheese. You'll soon be slicing, grating, shredding, dicing, and savoring both all year round in appetizers, soups, salads, grills, casseroles, and breads.

So come stroll with us through farmers' markets, wander through the Midwest and San Francisco and New York, then hop a plane and visit Paris bistros, Greek tavernas, and Italian trattorias. Let us share with you our experiences and give you the tools to enjoy tomatoes and mozzarella at home, 365 days a year.

Can you trust a tomato in January? What do you plant where and when? What's in a name? Heirlooms? Hybrids? Romas? Plums? Cherries? Beefsteaks? The tomato world has exploded into a huge industry that can seem like a big maze.

And that soft, milky mozzarella cheese, seemingly so mild and benign: Do we buy cow or buffalo, and, by the way, does that mean cheese from the great Montana buffalo? If we buy fresh mozzarella, how do we store it so we maximize its freshness for the longest period of time? And what's the fresh kind supposed to be used for, anyway, instead of the "regular" kind?

The following is a brief primer on how to search out the best for the season and tips on what to use when, so that you will be able to make the most of the recipes in this book.

Fresh tomatoes are the ones that people justifiably argue over, debate the various merits of, and wax poetically on. Let's start with the basics.

Most regular grocery store tomatoes are commercially produced hybrids. These are tomatoes that cannot reproduce by themselves. They've been crossbred for marketable characteristics such as greater fruit production, longer shelf life, and better disease resistance, which often results in a loss of flavor. That said, there are some delicious hybrids to be had out there.

So which variety should you use for which purpose? The varieties are endless, and you should do some taste -test experimentation with the types in your local supermarket to see what you like best. When we recommend a specific kind of tomato in our recipes, we suggest you use it if at all possible. When we just say tomatoes, use whatever variety looks best when you do your shopping.