The secret ingredient that makes tomatoes taste more like themselves

By Eric Kim

The New York Times

You’ve heard of the placebo effect. In medicine, there’s also the “tomato effect.” Coined by Dr. James Goodwin in 1984, it refers to when a treatment is ignored or rejected in culture, even though it is highly effective.

A tomato a day may not keep the doctor away, but it wasn’t always readily embraced. In fact, tomatoes were long considered poisonous, often confused with an actually poisonous relative, deadly nightshade. And though it’s true that the stems and leaves (and unripe fruits) of tomato plants contain tomatine, a toxic alkaloid, that can cause rashes, it would take large quantities to cause any true ill effects.

Today, we eagerly await tomatoes every summer and eat them with greed, but did you know that there’s a little trick to make your tomato dishes taste even more of tomatoes? (You may see where I’m going with this.)

For bigger, bolder flavor, try cooking with their vines. While you’re at it, if you grow your own, save some of the leaves the next time you prune your plants and add them to your dishes. Both lend a surprising depth to brothy curries, soups and braises, accentuating the fruit’s aroma. Just be sure to toss them before serving, as you would bay leaves or a tea bag.

Thanks to those leaves and vines, this quick, nourishing soup captures the acidic-sweet brightness and floral aroma of fresh tomatoes. Fragrant jasmine rice lends body and thickens the broth just enough, but any rice you love works well here. The perfect lunch or light dinner, it reheats beautifully to a texture not dissimilar to congee or juk and tastes like peak tomato in soup form. (I promise it won’t kill you.)

When I planted my first tomato plant this year, I didn’t know how much the journey from seed to fruit would test my patience. But now that I can reap the rewards of my amateur gardening attempt — a regular bounty of small grape tomatoes, plus their aromatic vines and leaves — I feel rich with time. It’s like Christmas morning on loop: Every other day, a new constellation of glinting red fruit shines against the winding green vines.

Brothy Tomato Rice Soup

This quick and nourishing soup captures the concentrated umami, acidic-sweet brightness and floral aroma of fresh tomatoes. If you can buy the ones on the vine, you’ll end up with an even more intense scent. Fragrant jasmine rice lends body and thickens the broth just enough. The perfect lunch or light dinner, this comforting meal reheats beautifully, too, to a texture not dissimilar to congee or juk, and tastes like peak summer in soup form. A note on cooking with tomato vines: They lend a surprising tomatoey flavor to brothy curries and soups like this, accentuating the aroma of the fruit in a beautiful way, but they do contain plant defenses called glycoalkaloids, so don’t eat them.

Makes 2 servings

INGREDIENTS

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 ounce guanciale or bacon, diced

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

Pinch of crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

12 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, preferably on the vine

1/4 cup jasmine rice

2 cups chicken stock, bone broth or dashi, preferably homemade

Salt

Fresh basil and toasted sesame oil, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1: Heat a medium saucepan over medium, then add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom. Stir-fry the guanciale and onion until both start to brown at the edges, about 5 minutes, then scooch them to the side of the pan.

2: To the empty side of the pan, add a little more oil if dry, then stir in the crushed red pepper and oregano. Reduce the heat if the spices start to burn. Nestle in the tomatoes (with their vines still on) and cook them until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3: Add the rice and stock and bring to a boil over high, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt. If your tomatoes had stems and vines, remove and discard them.

4: Serve immediately with a topping of fresh basil and a dribble of sesame oil, if using.

Recipe by Eric Kim.