Why do British supermarket tomatoes taste of worse than nothing?
Plus a gorgeous recipe for tomatoes stuffed with spicy saffron rice and herbs
Hello lovely readers! It should be paid week here at Pen and Spoon but I’m offering this one up for free as it’s a bit shorter than usual because I did a load of driving this week to get home from the south of France! Next week’s newsletter will be a complete guide to where to eat in Avignon (and a couple of recommendations from outside the city) so if you’re headed that way over the summer, or fancy visiting, it’s one not to miss. If you’re not a paid subscriber and it’s within your means to upgrade, do so by hitting the button below and choosing a paid option. Warm wishes, Sue X
Years ago I interviewed a guy for a newspaper article who used to work as a fresh produce buyer for a leading British supermarket chain. When I asked him why supermarket tomatoes mostly tasted of absolutely nothing and never ripened, just stayed pale and firm and woolly, he explained they were never meant to be juicy and delicious. Bog-standard tomatoes that come packaged were pretty much bred *not* to ripen, he said. That way, they could survive the journey to the UK from whatever far-flung poly-tunnel they grew in (often in Spain and Morocco, if not the UK) without turning to mush.
Refrigerated transport and storage also zaps flavour, while ‘flavour scalping’ is another problem. (I wrote a piece for the BBC a while back about why the flavour of food really isn’t what it used to be.) Flavour scalping is a food industry term to explain what happens when desirable food flavours are altered by long exposure to packaging. So there’s nothing like a British supermarket tomato to bring you back to earth with a horrible thud after a month-long working holiday in Avignon.
Even the corner shop a short (but sweaty) walk from the house where we were staying sold the large, voluptuous and juicy ‘anciennes’ varieties so abundant in the south of France at this time of year. At the Villeneuve Les Avignon and Les Halles markets they were even more extraordinary, a tomato fantasia in every shape and colour: bulbous specimens in deep purple through to almost black, neat cherry-red ones with perfectly formed segments, whoppers with an ombré effect of deep orange fading to pale yellow.
These weren’t flawless tomatoes; their ‘seams’ might have burst a little or their skin may have been speckled with insect holes. Many looked positively mutant with knobbly bits and protuberances. However, the throngs of shoppers who descend on these markets each week don’t expect uniform perfection. They carefully check each piece over before placing it in their pannier but the concept of buying fruit and vegetables that are precisely consistent in size and shape - as British supermarkets appear to believe the public demands - would be considered ludicrous.
The following recipe is from my book Easy Mediterranean. It requires large, ripe tomatoes but firm is also good, so it will work nicely even with specimens from a British supermarket if that’s all you have. If you want to source some truly delicious tomatoes and you don’t have access to a good farmers market or similar, try ordering delicious Isle of Wight tomatoes from The Tomato Stall .
There might be a lot of rice left over from this dish – the amount you need obviously depends on the size of the tomatoes. But serve any leftover rice alongside – it will be eaten.
Tomatoes stuffed with spicy saffron rice and herbs
Serves 4
4 large ripe but firm tomatoes
100g long grain white rice, rinsed well and drained
a generous pinch of saffron threads chopped
sea salt flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon harissa paste
1 heaped tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
about 10 mint leaves, chopped
a small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
a small handful oregano leaves, chopped
Cut the tops off the tomatoes and remove the flesh and core with a melon baller or teaspoon – try not to pierce the skins. Season the insides well with salt and set them upside down on a wire rack or kitchen paper to drain a little, alongside the lids. Chop the tomato flesh, put it into a sieve set over a bowl, and press down with the back of spoon to collect the pulpy juices. Discard what remains in the sieve and set the juices to one side.
Put the rice into pan with the saffron and a pinch of salt, and cover with 225ml water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until tender and the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180C and lightly oil a baking dish that will fit the tomatoes snugly. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion over a medium heat until very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and the harissa paste, and stir for a couple of minutes. Pull the pan off the heat and add the cooked rice, pine nuts, the reserved tomato juices and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix in the herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Fill the tomatoes with the rice mixture, pressing down with the back of a spoon to squeeze in as much as possible. Pop the tops back on and transfer the tomatoes to the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes until the tomatoes are beautifully soft – almost collapsing – and oozing juices.
Tomatoes and saffron, one of my favourite combinations that - for reasons unknown - falls out of my head once in a while, and here you are giving me the perfect excuse with this great recipe to make something using it - thank you!
The quality of tomatoes, above almost any other items of produce, is what really hit me the first few times we came to France. The thought of having to return to supermarket tomatoes now is slightly shudder-inducing really.
Looking forward to giving the recipe a whirl, thanks!