winosandfoodies

Cezannes Tomatoes - Cooking To Combat Cancer

My dear friend Chris over at Melcotte has announced her annual Cooking To Combat Cancer event.  Chris is a cancer survivor and has been  hosting this event since 2008. 

You need to post your entries by May 31st to be included in the round up.

This year I have chosen tomatoes as my cancer fighting food. They are considered one of the  most powerful foods for fighting cancer. They are most effective when cooked. This recipe is a favourite of mine. I love to watch everyone sitting around the table mopping up the leftover juices with chunks of  crusty bread.

Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants especially vitamin C and ‘lycopene'. Antioxidants protect the body from cell and tissue damage, which is caused by harmful molecules called free radicals. Cooking tomatoes in foods such as spaghetti sauce can actually boost their ability to fight cancers. - Gordon Lynch - Associate Professor and Reader in Physiology at the University of Melbourne Gordon

This recipe was a favourite of the painter Paul Cezanne.

CEZANNE'S TOMATOES

Ingredients

• 9 tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons salt ( I use Maldon)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F
• Cut tomatoes in half
• Sprinkle the salt over the tomato halves, lay them salt side down on a rack over a dish and allow to drain
• After 10 minutes squeeze them gently to remove excess water and seeds
• Spray a baking dish with oil. It should be large enough to hold all 18 tomatoe halves
• Peel, crush and finely chop the garlic
• Remove parsley from the stalks and chop the leaves finely
• Mix garlic, parsley and pepper together
• Arrange tomato halves in dish and spread mixture over each tomato half
• Pour a generous helping of olive oil over tomatoes
• Sprinkle with fresh breadcrumbs
• Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, keeping a watchful eye to prevent burning.
• Serve with lots of bread to mop up the juices

Cucumber and Poppy Seed Salad by Ottolenghi

I love this salad when just made. Bryan likes to leave it for an hour or so to let the red chillies do their work and impregnate the mild tasting cucumbers. Either way it's a fresh and zingy salad served on it's own or as a side dish.   It is from Ottolenghi the Cookbook .

CUCUMBER AND POPPY SEED SALAD

• Ingredients
• 6 small cucumbers ( I use Lebanese cucumbers)
• 2 mild red chillies, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander
• 60 ml white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
• 125 ml sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• salt and black pepper.

 

• Instructions
• Prepare the cucumbers by removing the ends then slice cucumbers at an angle. Pieces should be 1 cm thick and 3-4 cms long. I always remove the watery core also.
• Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to to massage the flavours gently into the cucumbers.
• Taste and adjust the amount of sugar and salt.   The taste should be sharp and sweet, almost like a pickle.
• If not serving immediately you may need to drain of some liquid off later. Adjust seasonings again if needed.