FRESH & FAST: TOMATO TIME

Year after year, summer after summer, I look forward with great anticipation to my favorite salad: ripe red tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges, a pinch of kosher salt, a handful of torn fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil is all it takes. And, of course, a chunk of good bread for sopping up the fruity olive oil and tomato juices from the bottom of the bowl.

The great number of different tomato recipes that grace my table from mid-July through September (which is tomato season where I live) runs the gamut from soup to sauce, side dishes to main courses. During tomato season, we eat tomatoes every single day. The tomato, warm from the sun and heavy in my hand, is a food I adore, a food of which I never tire.

Once upon a time tomatoes were red and only red. Today they come in a rainbow of colors: red, yellow, golden, orange, purple, brown and green with stripes. Many of these are called ``heirloom`` tomatoes, which means they are purebred or seeds that have been saved for generations. Other tomatoes fall into the category of hybrids, which means they have been grown from seed that has been commercially developed.

The great thing about these different tomatoes is that although they have different levels of acidity and gentle nuances of flavor, for the most part they can be used interchangeably in recipes.

In celebration of tomato time, here is a daring menu featuring tomatoes in three different recipes. The headnote to each recipe will suggest different varieties or colors of tomatoes to use in the recipe.

For dessert, serve peaches sweetened with sugar and splashed with red wine. I remember my grandfather making this simple dessert when peaches were at their height of ripeness, which was, and still is, the same as tomato time.

SIDEBAR: TOMATO TIPS

-- About peeling. Generally I think that life is too short (and summer is too hot) to spend it peeling tomatoes. But if a tomato has a particularly thick or tough skin or if it will enhance the dish, by all means peel it.

The quickest way to peel a tomato is make an X in the base of the tomato with the tip of a sharp knife and lower it (or them) into a wide pot half filled with boiling water for about 20 seconds. The skin along the X should start to peel back. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon or tongs and let stand on a plate until cool enough to handle. The skin should slip right off. (Peaches can be peeled using the same technique.)

-- About coring. Coring is a term that is used to describe removing the stem end from a tomato. Use the tip of a small, sharp, paring knife (or use a grapefruit knife) to cut around the core (or stem end) in a V shape and then lift it out.

-- About storing. Never, I repeat never, refrigerate your tomatoes or place them on a sunny windowsill to ripen. Refrigerated (too cold) tomatoes get mushy and tasteless, and a sunny windowsill (too warm) can make them rot. If your tomatoes are underripe, place them in a brown paper bag and place in a cool, dark place. The tomatoes will give off ethylene gas (which will help to speed ripening) and the paper bag will help to trap the gas. Otherwise just store the tomatoes on a tray or bowl at room temperature away from direct sun or excesses of heat.

MENU

An all-tomato, tomato-lovers` menu for summer:

Pan-Fried Plum Tomatoes With Tomato Toast

Tomato, Tarragon and Green Bean Salad

Tomato and Asiago Cheese Frittata

Grandpa`s Peaches in Red Wine

SHOPPING

8 large plum tomatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds

5 large ripe tomatoes (red, yellow, green zebra or others) or 8 to 10 medium-sized tomatoes

1 loaf French or Italian bread

1 bunch fresh tarragon

1 bunch fresh basil

1 pound slender green beans

4 ounces Asiago cheese

4 large ripe peaches

PANTRY

Extra-virgin olive oil

Dried thyme

Garlic

1 large sweet onion

8 large eggs

Sugar

1 bottle red wine (Chianti or Zinfandel are good choices)

PREPARATION

Begin cooking the plum tomatoes for the toast. While tomatoes are cooking, make the salad. Finish the tomato toast. Make the frittata last. Serve dishes warm and freshly made or make ahead and serve at room temperature. Prepare the peaches just before serving.

PAN-FRIED PLUM TOMATOES WITH TOMATO TOAST

Use ripe red Roma plum tomatoes for this recipe.

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

8 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) plum tomatoes, trimmed and halved lengthwise

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

4 to 8 thin diagonal slices French or Italian bread, preferably day old

Heat olive oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add just enough tomatoes, skin side down, to fill skillet in single layer. Adjust heat to maintain steady sizzle. Sprinkle tomatoes with thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, without stirring, until skins are blackened and blistered, 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully turn tomatoes over, skin side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, without stirring, adjusting heat to maintain steady sizzle, until cut side of tomatoes are browned, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Use slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to platter.

Add bread to oil and tomato juices left in pan. Drizzle with additional olive oil, if needed. Cook bread just until lightly browned, turn and cook other side, about 2 minutes.

To serve, place bread around edges of platter holding tomatoes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 to 30 minutes

TOMATO, TARRAGON AND GREEN BEAN SALAD

For this salad, use purple cherokee, green zebra, golden yellow or other red tomato varieties, or use any combination of tomatoes.

3 large ripe tomatoes

Salt

1/2 cup thin vertical slices sweet onion

1/4 cup packed cut-up fresh tarragon sprigs

1 pound slender fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Core tomatoes and cut into thin wedges. Place in large serving bowl and sprinkle with salt to taste. Add onion and tarragon and stir to blend. Let stand while cooking beans.

Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt along with beans and cook, stirring, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes, depending on size of beans. Drain.

Immediately add hot beans to tomato mixture. Add olive oil and black pepper to taste. Toss. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 6 to 8 minutes

TOMATO AND ASIAGO CHEESE FRITTATA

Use any combination or all one color of red, green, yellow or purple tomatoes.

8 large eggs

1 cup finely grated Asiago cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cubed tomatoes (2 large or 3 or 4 medium tomatoes)

1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

Combine eggs, 1/2 cup Asiago cheese, salt and pepper to taste in large bowl and whisk until blended. Set aside.

Place tomatoes in separate bowl. Add basil, 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to blend. Set aside.

In 9-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil and garlic over medium-low heat just until garlic begins to sizzle. Add egg mixture all at once, stirring to blend with oil. Spoon tomatoes evenly over top and cook until frittata is set on bottom, 5 minutes. Tilt pan slightly at same time, lifting one edge of frittata so some of uncooked center flows under. Repeat several times at different places along edges.

Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and cook over low heat until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes more. If browned top is desired, place skillet under preheated broiler just until top browns slightly, about 2 minutes. Protect handle of skillet with double thickness of foil if it is not heat-proof.

To serve, cut into wedges. Good served hot, warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: about 20 minutes

GRANDPA`S PEACHES IN RED WINE

4 large ripe peaches, peeled and pitted

2 teaspoons sugar

2 cups full-bodied red wine (Chianti or Zinfandel are good choices)

Slice peaches directly into 4 wine glasses. Sprinkle each with about 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Add wine. Serve each with a spoon. Makes 4 servings.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

(Marie Simmons is the author of the newly published ``The Good Egg,`` Houghton Mifflin, winner of a James Beard award and a Julia Child award.)

(c) 2000, Marie Simmons. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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Author: Marie Simmons