Tomatoes are summer vegetables and, the fresh ones, should therefore be consumed in the summer. The good time to eat them ends, therefore, with the month of September.
Tomatoes, like peppers and eggplants, are salanacee, a plant family that contains solanine. If taken in excessive quantities, solanine can be harmful to the body. So shouldn't we eat tomatoes? Absolutely! We have to eat them all right, but in the right way.
The solanine content is inversely proportional to the degree of ripeness, so the tomatoes should preferably be well ripe. Furthermore, those in season and naturally ripened contain a smaller quantity compared to those out of season.
In the months other than the summer ones, tomatoes, with their precious qualities, can keep us company in the form of preserves and dried: cooking and salting, in fact, help to inactivate solanine.
Tomatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; they facilitate digestion and are low in calories: 100 grams of fresh tomatoes contain less than 20 calories.
How to eat tomatoes
Tomatoes, raw or cooked, are packed with nutrients. The lycopene, however, it is found in the cell walls and, therefore, cooking them with a drizzle of oil, the cells burst and release a greater quantity of this precious substancea.
Tomatoes, who doesn't love them? Who doesn't use them in dozens of dishes? Fresh or canned, they are the winning solution for a thousand recipes. In September, we take advantage of the last fresh tomatoes of the season and let's consume them in a simple way, in the context of a healthy and natural diet.
Find out more about Solanaceae
5 fast and healthy recipes with tomatoes
When it comes to tomatoes and quick recipes, it is superfluous to give too many indications, so here are 5 ideas, very simple dishes, to bring fresh tomatoes to the September table:
Spaghetti with San Marzano tomatoes
Ingredients for 4 people:
> 8 San Marzano tomatoes,
> 320 grams of spaghetti,
> extra virgin olive oil,
> a few basil leaves,
> sale.
Preparation: blanch the San Marzano tomatoes, remove the skin, mash them and season them with salt, extra virgin olive oil and a few basil leaves. Season the pasta and serve. Very simple and very healthy dish.
| By 10Rosso
Fusilli with cherry tomatoes, pitted black olives and capers
Ingredients for 4 people:
> 320 grams of fusilli,
> a dozen cherry tomatoes,
> a dozen pitted black olives,
> a teaspoon of pickled capers,
> salt (a little) and extra virgin olive oil.
Preparation: wash and split the cherry tomatoes and sauté them for a few minutes in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil together with the garlic; add the olives and capers, season with salt, remove the garlic and season the fusilli. Finish the dish with a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil.
Mixed salad with cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
> cherry tomatoes
> pitted green olives,
> lettuce,
> rocket
> feta.
Preparation: combine everything and season in a very simple way, with salt and extra virgin olive oil. Also try the completely vegetable version, with tofu instead of feta.
Friselle with tomato
Very summery dish, typically southern.
- ingredients they are very simple:
> cherry tomatoes,
> extra virgin olive oil,
> sale,
> oregano,
> friselle.
Preparation: wet the friselle with water, neither too much nor too little, otherwise they become excessively soft or remain very hard. Break the tomatoes, place them on the frisella, pressing a little to let the juice out, and season with extra virgin olive oil, oregano and salt.
Lastly, we advise you the caprese salad with veg mozzarella, to try a 100% vegetable version of one of the most famous summer dishes.
Another recipe for the summer: panzanella
To learn more:
> September vegetables
