Tomato Basil Orzo Salad
Submitted by Deborah Smith, JerseyBites.com
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 1/3 Cups (8 oz) Orzo, uncooked
2 1/4 cups low fat chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Cup chopped fresh tomato
1 Cup packed fresh basil, torn or chiffonade
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1/2 cup crumbled feta, gorgonzola or goat cheese
In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add pasta and sauté, stirring frequently until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in stock and seasonings, heat to boiling. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and basil and cover. Cook 4 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed. Stir in olives and cheese. Serves 4. Can also be served cold.
All Hail the Jersey Tomato!
Lewis Grizzard, the famous Southern humorist (actually I don’t know how famous he really is) once said, "It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." I tend to agree. And, being from the South, I wonder if Mr. Grizzard ever had the opportunity to taste a real tomato. I mean a Jersey tomato of course. If he had, I am sure his opinion of us Yankees would have been much improved.
When I was a little girl growing up in Fair Haven, my father had one well known talent, growing tomatoes. He used a mysterious cultivation method called a “Japanese Tomato Ring.” Basically, it was a round plot of earth about four feet in diameter that he fenced in with chicken wire and layered compost and top soil and fertilizer in a recipe only Pops was privy to. Whatever the secret, those tomatoes loved him for it and paid him back for his devotion all summer long. I think we supplied the whole cul-de-sac with brown paper bags overflowing with red, ripe, juicy tomatoes. I still have a very vivid memory of my 6 foot 2” father standing next to his tomato plants which had grown more than a few inches taller than him. I was very proud of my father’s tomato plants even though it would be years before I really understood the joy of growing and consuming vegetables from your own backyard.
I have since tried to find the recipe to the “Japanese Tomato Ring” and thanks to the power of the Internet I actually located the whole story behind the process. It was invented by a postman in Charleston, South Carolina approximately 40 years ago which would have given it about 6 years to reach New Jersey making me 8 at the time. The postman was interviewed by a local reporter and as they inspected the Tomato ring they talked about the Postman’s tour of North Africa and Japan when he was in the Air Force. Somehow the reporter got his facts confused when composing the article and dubbed this new style of tomato production the “Japanese Tomato Ring.” The name stuck and spread from newspaper to newspaper until it made its way to my father’s garden. If you would like to learn more about this technique and perhaps even implement it in your own backyard visit http://www.jerseybites.com/2008/06/tomato-ring.html for full instructions.
