THE GREAT DIXTER COOKBOOK What to Grow and How to Cook it TOMATOES
TOMATOES Meet another vegetable gardener in the summer months and it is almost inevitable that the first thing they will ask is, How are your tomatoes? It seems that the quality of the tomato crop is the benchmark by which we judge each other, and I seem to spend more time worrying about tomatoes than I do anything else in the garden. Are they getting enough sun? Are they getting enough water? Are they getting blight? In the UK s unpredictable climate, tomatoes can be tricky to grow, especially if, as I do, you like to grow them outside. A greenhouse might make life easier, but there really is nothing to compare with the flavour of an outdoor tomato, and when you get a crop as good as the one I had in 2014, the sense of pride is immense. The weather was consistently warm from early spring onwards, with no dips in temperature and plenty of sunshine: absolutely perfect for tomatoes. I like to sow the seeds in early spring so that we have good-sized plants ready to go out once the soil has warmed up. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don t stop growing, either because of lack of light, water and heat, or because they have outgrown their pots. If need be, pot them on while you wait for the soil to reach the right temperature. Ideally, they should be about 30 cm/12 inches tall when you plant them out, so they will need support immediately with a good sturdy stake. At this stage I also start removing the lower leaves from the plants. The main problem with tomatoes is blight, a fungal disease that lives in the soil. When it rains, or the plant is watered, soil can bounce up onto the leaves, carrying the disease with it. Removing the leaves will help with that, as well as improving air circulation around the plant. The other common problem is splitting. This will happen if the plants are allowed to dry out and then there is a deluge, as often happens in Britain during the summer. The answer is to keep the plants well watered or, if a heavy rain is forecast and you are worried about the fruit splitting, just pick the under-ripe tomatoes and put them on a sunny windowsill to turn red. With tomatoes grown outside, it is really a question of being vigilant. Blight always comes sooner or later, even in a wonderful warm, dry summer like the one we had in 2014. If you catch it early enough, you can remove the affected parts and hope for the best, but usually it is better just to pick any unaffected fruit and take it indoors to ripen, then take out the diseased plants and put them on the bonfire. I never feed my tomato plants because we grow them in a rich soil with plenty of added compost, and we are careful never to grow tomatoes in the same area of the garden within a three-year period. FAVOURITE VARIETIES I grow several varieties each year. My notebook tells me that a bumper harvest included Alicante, Black Cherry, Super Marmalade (or Super Marmande ) and Gardener s Delight. I also tried Glacier, which was supposed to fruit early and be blight resistant but failed on both fronts. KEY DATES Sow tomatoes in early spring. Even though you will need to wait for the soil to warm up before planting out, they need time to develop into strong, healthy plants. Ideally, they should be about 30 cm/12 inches tall when they go out. COMMON PROBLEMS It seems that blight is pretty much inevitable if you grow tomatoes outside. As soon as you see the telltale brown spots on the leaves, pick the unaffected fruit and put it on the windowsill to ripen, then pull up the plant and put it on the bonfire. Splitting is the other common problem with tomatoes and is a consequence of uneven watering. Water regularly, and if a deluge is forecast, consider picking any almostripe fruit and bringing it inside.
TOMATO TART Serves 8 For me, this tart is like eating summer, and one of the best things to do with fresh tomatoes at their peak. If you have been looking for a reason to grow tomatoes, look no further. The combination of mustard and cheese with the tomatoes is hard to beat, although people are often not able to detect what that interesting extra flavour is. They just know it tastes delicious. I make this tart so often in the summer that I like to think I ve perfected the recipe. The extra few minutes in the oven without the pan makes all the difference, and, like all tarts, it benefits from having a little time to rest and settle before being eaten. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas Mark 4, placing an oven rack in the lower part of it. Grease a 30-cm/12-inch loose-bottom tart pan. PREPARATION: 10 minutes COOKING: 40 50 minutes oil or butter, for greasing 1 quantity chilled Shortcrust Pastry (Basic Pie Dough) flour, for dusting 4 tablespoons wholegrain mustard 8 large tomatoes (about 850 g/1¾ lb in total), sliced quite finely 2 tablespoons grated Gruyère cheese 2 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper Roll out the pastry (dough) on a lightly floured work surface until it is large enough to line your tart pan. Spread the mustard on the bottom of the pastry case (shell). Place some sliced tomatoes around the edge of the case (shell), making sure they overlap, then fill in the middle. Sprinkle the cheese over the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with the oil. Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake on a low oven rack for 40 minutes. Take the tart out of the oven and carefully slip off the outer ring, leaving the tart sitting on the base. Return to the oven on the baking sheet for another 5 10 minutes so that the sides get really crisp. % 30 OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY Get more expert planting guides and seasonal recipes from the Great Dixter garden with 30% off The Great Dixter Cookbook. Just enter code DIXTER30 at checkout. phaidon.com/dixter
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