Fond memories of a tomato-lover
Cooking Demonstrations with European canned tomatoes (Red Gold) at Macau Bookfair and at Yantai World Gourmand Awards
For about ten years I have been visiting China, taking part in the World Gourmand events under the auspices of Edouard Cointreau, featuring international and local Chinese experts in the culinary arts and publishing.
For the current and previous years I have been featuring excellent canned European tomatoes for simple tomato-rich dishes, for which the accompanying photos help illustrate: in Yantai I prepared Spaghetti with tomatoes (and garlic and olive oil) on stage -the crowd was very enthusiastic. They LOVED it. I prepared a HUGE potful and while I wasbusy being interviewed for national television, radio, etc., my assistants were serving up the tomato pasta. At the end not a smidgen of tomato was left–you can see the empty pot in my photo collage.
Recently, earlier this month, my book on Naples (and its tomato-rich cuisine) was awarded First Place at the Gourmand Cookbook Awards at the Macau, China, Cookbook Fair. It was a huge and prestigious honor; for my onstage demonstrations I prepared macaroni with European tomatoes, golden raisins, and cheese. A photo is included of a woman enjoying a huge plateful, but sadly I didn’t take a video: she was saying: “This is the best thing I have ever eaten”.
- Pasta with Tomatoes, Golden Raisins, and Cheese (serves 4)
- 500 g short pasta, such as shells, elbow macaroni, or other round tube or shell shape
- 1 can of tomatoes from Europe
- 2-3 tablespoons tomato concentrate
- 75 g golden raisins, or more to taste,
- 220 g white meltable cheese
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- several pinches hot red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
In a frying pan lightly sauté the garlic and hot red pepper flakes in half the olive oil, adding more oil if needed. When the garlic is softened and golden in colour, add the tomatoes and raise the heat, breaking up the tomatoes, and cooking until it reduces down to nearly half. Add the tomato concentrate, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Cook the macaroni in rapidly boiling salted water, until al dente, then drain and toss with the sauce, adding the golden raisins, and then the cheese. When the cheese is melted, taste for salt and pepper, and add more salt if desired. Serve right away.
I have noticed the increasing love of tomatoes over the years, of course, no doubt fueled by the increasing love of PIZZA and PASTA. In fact, tomato-sauced pizza is so popular thatnot only the big pizza restaurant chains are nearly everywhere, but you can order a pizza on a train and it will be delivered to you at the next stop by a local pizzeria. When I saw tomato-topped pizza at the breakfast buffet in a restaurant, I was told that pizza was verypopular in the area (Yantai, in Shandong). And pasta, too: recently I was looking for a place to eat in Shanghai and kept finding “Spaghetti Bolognese” on offer in the local “Coffee Shops”.
But even tomatoes in traditional Chinese style: with the cauliflower-broccoli florets, scrambled with eggs, mixed into a sauce with hot chilis. Some places I have even seen small cherry tomatoes used for sweets–cake topping, etc.
On a flight from Shanghai to Macau (Shanghai airlines) we were served rice with a stew ofcanned small tomatoes mixed with small pieces of beef. And at a party I had a kimchee bloody Mary (western drink, in Yantai, an area near Korea and therefore kimchee is very popular).
I’ve also noticed that in the supermarkets of Macau and Hong Kong, European tomatoes are sold in a variety of types, sizes, etc., showing a demand in the marketplace for tomato taste and goodness.Marlena SpielerJournalist and award winning author of many books
Cook the macaroni in rapidly boiling salted water, until al dente, then drain and toss with the sauce, adding the golden raisins, and then the cheese. When the cheese is melted, taste for salt and pepper, and add more salt if desired. Serve right away.
I have noticed the increasing love of tomatoes over the years, of course, no doubt fueled by the increasing love of PIZZA and PASTA. In fact, tomato-sauced pizza is so popular thatnot only the big pizza restaurant chains are nearly everywhere, but you can order a pizza on a train and it will be delivered to you at the next stop by a local pizzeria. When I saw tomato-topped pizza at the breakfast buffet in a restaurant, I was told that pizza was very popular in the area (Yantai, in Shandong). And pasta, too: recently I was looking for a place to eat in Shanghai and kept finding “Spaghetti Bolognese” on offer in the local “Coffee Shops”.
But even tomatoes in traditional Chinese style: with the cauliflower-broccoli florets, scrambled with eggs, mixed into a sauce with hot chilis. Some places I have even seen small cherry tomatoes used for sweets–cake topping, etc.
On a flight from Shanghai to Macau (Shanghai airlines) we were served rice with a stew ofcanned small tomatoes mixed with small pieces of beef. And at a party I had a kimchee bloody Mary (western drink, in Yantai, an area near Korea and therefore kimchee is very popular).
I’ve also noticed that in the supermarkets of Macau and Hong Kong, European tomatoes are sold in a variety of types, sizes, etc., showing a demand in the marketplace for tomato taste and goodness.
Marlena Spieler
Journalist and award winning author of many books