Ei von Phuket: A Top-Notch Cooking Tomato

When last we were talking about the Thai tomato, Ei von Phuket, it was Frank’s birthday and I was waiting for him to come home so he could taste this tomato we’re growing out for the Roughwood Seed Collection.

The verdict?  If you’re cooking with tomatoes, especially if you’re using the broiler, you want to use this tomato.

Who thought that a Thai tomato would be so amazing in bruschetta? Or that it transforms our weekday standby, frittata, into a dish we’re now serving to company?

(I’m sure this tomato is amazing in Thai food, but Frank is allergic to rice, so I don’t cook Thai at home.  [Have to make things that everyone can eat!]  If you do cook Thai cuisine at home and are growing this tomato, do try it out at the pale greenish-white unripe stage for curries as is done in Thailand — unlike Italian tomatoes, this tomato lingers in the “just before ripe” unripe stage so that you can easily harvest enough for curries and have ripe tomatoes to broil.)

Fresh, this tomato is okay, but nothing to write a blog post about.   Add heat and you’ll see why we’re so excited about this tomato.  Here’s how we’re eating/cooking with Ei von Phukets right now:

Saute:  It’s August and we have veggies, veggies, veggies.  I usually chop up what isn’t suitable for the farm stand and toss it in to the frying pan with some diced tomatoes so that I don’t need to use as much olive oil to keep the veggies from sticking to the pan.  In the past, I just used whatever tomatoes weren’t right for the farm stand either, but now, the flavor is definately enhanced when I use the Ei von Phukets.

Frittata:  With laying hens and lots of veggies, frittata is our go-to meal when things get busy.  Coat the frying pan with a good layer of spray oil. plop in whatever veggie mix is in the frig, stir in the eggs, turn on the heat to let it set and I was ready to go.  Then, since the Ei von Phukets were so good under the broiler for bruschetta, I thought, “Why not lay them on top of the frittata before it goes into the broiler?”  So, I halfed the Ei von Phukets, took out the seeds, then halfed the halfs and dropped them in a nice pattern in the top of the frittata while it was cooking on the stovetop.  I then grated some cheese (I like Pecorino Romano) over the tomatoes and put the whole thing under the broiler.

When it comes out, it looks like this:

It looks nice (which is always a struggle for me) and it tastes fabulous!
So for 2015, it’s Zhong Shu #6 for fresh eating, Rei Umberto for sauce and Ei von Phuket for cooking (especially broiling).
Happy Tomato Season and if you’d like to try any of these tomatoes, drop me a line!