TOMATO TIME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 8, Issue 188, 29 January 1943, Page 15

TOMATO TIME

HETHER the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable really doesn’t matter. It is a real joy to the busy housewife, for it provides so many different dishes, both cooked and uncooked, to help vary her summer menus, And you can set a pretty table, too, with the colourful tomato. Don’t put it next to the beetroot, though. Some of these ideas may be new to you. Tomato Jelly Cook some tomatoes with a clove, a small teaspoon of chopped onion, a little sugar, and seasoning. When they are quite tender, press through a fine sieve. To every pint of tomato juice add ¥20z. melted gelatine. Stir well till the mixture begins to cool, and pour into a wetted mould to set. Chopped olives may be added to the jelly, which is very delicious with cold meat, or may be used to decorate a vegetable salad. Stuffed Tomato Salad Chop very finely a cupful of cold ham or tongue, and season it with salt, pepper, a little chopped celery and onion. Add half the quantity of fine breadcrumbs, and mix the whole to a smooth paste with a little vinegar and sugar to taste. Cut off the top of the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp; mix this with the rest, and put it all back into the tomato shells. Garnish with lettuce leaves and parsley, and serve with mayonnaise. Tomato Mayonnaise Stir some raw ripe tomato pulp into your favourite mayonnaise recipe. A delightful mixture. Poinsettia Salad This is a colourful dish for a supper table. Peel sufficient medium-sized tomatoes, but keep them whole, Cut them down in eighths without severing the sections at the bottom. Open them out, so that each tomato represents a flower. Into each centre put a _ tablespoon of cream cheese mashed and moistened with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice, and sprinkle with a few grains of cayenne or paprika, to give colour to the centre, Serve on a bed of lettuce. Baked Tomatoes This is one of the easiest and tastiest ways of serving tomatoes-with either fried, grilled or roasted meat of any kind. Halve the tomatoes horizontally, place in buttered baking dish, season with pepper and salt, put a walnut of butter on each, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. A drop of vinegar on each half also adds to the flavour, Bake in hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes according to size. Eggs Baked in Tomatoes Have fairly large tomatoes, cut off the tops, and scoop out some of the pulp. Season inside the tomatoes, and then drop an egg into each, Place on greased dish, and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked. Take the part scooped out, season and heat with some

butter in a saucepan, Place the tomatoes on slices of fried bacon or toast, and pour the heated pulp over. Serve hot. Tomato Milk Soup Two pounds of tomatoes, 1 quart of milk, 20z. butter, pinch bicarbonate of soda, and salt to taste. Cut tomatoes up and let them stew about 20 minutes in their own juice, throw in the soda, then strain and press through a colander into the boiling milk and other ingredients, already thickened with a little cornflour. The soup must not boil after the toma+ toes are in, or it will curdle. Tomato, Marrow and Cheese Savoury Peel marrow, put slices in the bottom of a greased dish. Slice peeled tomatoes on top, then put slices of raw potato. Repeat these layers till the dish is full. Cover with a good white sauce, with cheese in it. Grate over some more cheese, sprinkle with cayenne, and cook in moderate oven till potatoes are tender and dish is brown on top.