LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2019

TOMATO TIME

GROWING PAINS Here are some home-gardener tips from Valerio Primomo, tomato-breeding expert at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Fun Fact WORLDWIDE, THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 7,500 TOMATO VARIETIES. Allow at least 12 inches (30 cm) between each plant. Ensure there are holes in the bottom of pots for drainage. Choose roomy pots, so plants won’t become root-bound and stunted. Use stakes or tomato cages to support heavy plants. DO Never overwater: soil should be damp to the touch. Don’t water in the midday sun, to avoid burning the leaves. Don’t allow plants to droop or break: tomatoes will rot resting on soil. DON’T

Spirited tomatoes There’s a world of exquisite cocktails beyond a Bloody Mary or a Caesar. Think Tomato Martini, made with flavourful tomato water. Use tomato water for cocktail ice cubes or to create your own signature summer sipper by mixing three parts tomato water with one part gin or vodka. The sweetness of cherry tomatoes is ideal for mud- dling into drinks alongside seasonal ingredients like berries, melon and fresh herbs. Use them as a col- ourful garnish on the side of a glass.

Find the Tomtini at foodanddrink.ca

Vine ’n’dine

turns them into powder for green pasta. He says sweet tomatoes also make great frozen sorbet. For best flavour, he sug- gests allowing tomatoes to ripen on the vine before picking, then storing them at room temperature—not in the fridge, which diminishes taste and texture.

Think outside the salad bowl and use tomatoes in red gazpacho with watermelon, or in golden gazpacho with vegetables like yellow peppers. A rustic tomato sauce with shallots, garlic and fresh basil can be spooned over grilled fish. Ban- gerter also dehydrates tomato plant leaves and

“Tomatoes are synony- mous with summer,” says Jason Bangerter, execu- tive chef at Langdon Hall, near Cambridge, Ont., where the harvest season starts in late July and wanes at the end of Au- gust. “There are so many varieties of tomatoes that it’s possible to look at them in new ways.”

Jason Bangerter Executive Chef Langdon Hall

Tomato Bread Salad Perfect at any backyard BBQ for its quintessential summery taste. Find the recipe at foodanddrink.ca

PORTRAIT OF JASON BANGERTER COURTESY OF LANGDON HALL

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SUMMER 2019 FOOD & DRINK