The way to improve upon tomato perfection

Sometimes, revelations come from the most unexpected circumstances.

One night a few years ago, I was sitting with a longtime friend named Marion in her childhood home in New Jersey.

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She was there from Baltimore to help care for her hospitalized mother. My wife and had driven up to visit.

After spending the afternoon at the hospital, we were back at Marion’s house, where she made martinis exactly as she recalled her mother making them. She filled a cut-crystal highball glass with ice, poured two “fat fingers” of Beefeater gin, a “mite of vermouth, a little water to make it last longer,” and three olives. Stirred.

We talked about her childhood, her “mommy,” as Marion always called her, our families, and some larger topics: health, and how we live our lives. After a pause, Marion asked, “What are your five favorite foods?”

Perhaps the cocktails loosened the evening enough to pop such a question. Maybe it was the need to change the subject. Whatever the case, the exercise engaged us both for quite a while. Could “cheese” be an answer, or was a person required to choose a specific type? What about enchiladas — a certain filling or style, and only that filling or style?

But when it came to one item, there were no questions, only understandings. A summer tomato.

“Of course.”

“Luscious.”

“Tomato-y.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“‘Another martini?”

Oh, we could have parsed tomatoes. Brandywine, Purple Cherokee, beefsteak. Yada yada. There was no need.

We knew what we meant: the flavor of summer. Perfection.

So, here’s a question. Do you leave well enough alone if it’s perfect?

My answer: If you grill or smoke a tomato, you haven’t made it imperfect. You have just made it a different kind of perfect.

That’s my thinking when I place a beautiful, ripe, perfect tomato over a fire. I must say, I’m conflicted before I do so. Part of me simply wants to slice into the tomato, gaze upon its gorgeous color while beads of juice form, and, after sprinkling a little salt on a wedge, bite into it. Another part of me, though, can’t wait to place the plump fruit on a grate over the fire where, inevitably, the hot embers will blister its skin and scar its flesh.

That branding is the point, of course. The char adds dimension to the tomato’s essential tomato-ness.

Although a smoldering fire changes some foods (from raw to cooked, like ribs), to a tomato the distinctiveness doesn’t so much transform as transport. It keeps the tomato but takes it somewhere else.

Not all tomatoes are created equal. Big and meaty, tiny and delicate. You can grill every last one of them, but you need a plan.

Choose firm tomatoes. The grill’s heat will turn an overly ripe tomato into mush. It’s fine, texturally, if a tomato is slightly underripe, but you won’t get the fruit’s full flavor.

For teardrop and cherry tomatoes, slice off the tops and put them in a vegetable basket so they don’t fall through the grate. Or alternate them, red and yellow, on a wooden skewer. Grill for a few minutes, then apply olive oil and salt to make a fabulous side dish.