When Labor Day swings around, it’s the cue for a final summer food fling — one last late-night barbeque and a fond farewell to the garden’s seasonal bounty.
Perhaps the saddest good-bye is to summer tomatoes. Although they’re available year-round, they never quite taste the same. Right now, they’re at peak deliciousness.
I eat them in every way I can: I fry them for breakfast, slow-roast them for salads, add them to sandwiches and make tomato chutney. But when big groups of friends come over, I love whipping up South Indian tomato and coconut rice.
Tomatoes work in a couple of different ways in this recipe: They create a wonderful sauce alongside the coconut milk, which is used to flavor and cook the rice, then they float to the top to decorate the dish.
The end result is a dish delicious enough to stand on its feet without the need for anything else (which is especially good if you have vegetarians or vegans at the table) but will also complement grilled meat or salad. As a side benefit, it’s inexpensive to cook a mountain of it and uses just a single pot.
TOMATO AND COCONUT RICE
Curry leaves add a lovely citrus and smoke flavor to the rice but can be tricky to find unless you live near an Asian supermarket. If you can’t find them, leave them out.
Start to finish: 45 minutes
Serves: 4
2 cups of basmati rice
2 tablespoons canola oil
12 fresh curry leaves
1 cinnamon stick, approx. 2 inches
1 large onion, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 green serrano chilies, finely sliced
1 handful of cashews, unsalted
12 ounces fresh baby plum or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup water
Nutrition information per serving: 652 calories; 245 calories from fat; 27 g fat (17 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 498 mg sodium; 90 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 12 g protein
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