With Mother’s Day around the corner, I am excited about the tomato plants that I will soon plant. Planting tomatoes on Mother’s Day is a tip I got from my friend, Phil Goldman, who has the perfect green thumb and decades of gardening experience. Fresh tomatoes, with sweet and acidic pulp, are the perfect backdrop for salads, sautes and sauces, and pack a nutritious punch with vitamin C, E, A, B6, lycopene and dietary fiber. Tomatoes on the stands are already looking like summer and are the secondary ingredient in our Tunisian-inspired, Trimmer Tuesday post of braised or grilled with whole shrimp, spices and fresh garden parsley. Enjoy this with your favorite greens, fresh or sautéed and a glass of bright North Fork Sauvignon Blanc for the perfect Trimmer Tuesday dinner.
Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds tomatoes, halved crosswise
1/2 cup chopped spring onions (4 large)
1 serrano chile, minced
3/4 teaspoon ground corriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon of local honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
North Fork Sea Salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 pounds wild, gulf shrimp (more flavor if cooked with head on/ok to peel remainder of shell and devein)
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons drained capers
Rough chop the tomatoes and set aside with pulp and seeds. Add the scallions, chile, coriander, caraway, parsley, honey and vinegar to the tomatoes. Using the flat side of a chef’s knife, mash the garlic to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir the paste and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into the sauce and season with salt. Let the tomato mixture stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Light a grill. In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill or saute the shrimp over a moderately hot fire until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to plates and sprinkle with the capers. Serve with the tomato mixture on the side or add to the pan just before serving.
