Tomatoes, a plant which is a fruit, technically it’s a berry, springs from a wild vine-like plant which originally grew all over the high Andes region of Peru and Bolivia, along with the potato.  Grown wild, plucked and eaten on the spot by the locals but not cultivated, the tiny fruit was highly perishable and its growing season short.  The date of its entry and the way in which it was introduced into Europe is just as questionable as the potato.  It was first brought north to what is now Mexico where the fruit was named "xitomatl." The Aztecs and other speakers of Nahuatl, native peoples of Central America and Mexico cultivated the tomato.

Carried to Europe by the Spanish, the tomato first seen and noted by an Italian herbalist in the 1540’s, was small, pear-shaped and yellow in color.  I would think it may have been a smaller version of the heirloom yellow pear version available today.  The Italian word "pomo d’oro" or golden apple then makes sense.  Pier Andrea Mattioli an herbalist in 1544 described it as both toxic and aphrodisiac.  Almost two centuries later, a Dutch herbalist asserted that the tomato’s seeds “caused faintness and a sort of apoplexy.”  This may be due to the fact that the tomato is part of the deady nightshade family.  

The Italians were the first Europeans to make the fruit their own, breeding and cultivating it.  By the 17^th Century the red variety of tomato had become preeminent throughout Europe, but only as a decorative vine.  This fruit had been cultivated in southern Mexico, changing it considerably from the small yellow fruit to a smaller version of our current tomato.  The results, of course, are well known. A tradition less than 400 years old, Italian cuisine without the tomato is unthinkable.  For this country whose cuisine is now unimaginable without them, tomatoes didn’t become truly popular until they began appearing as preserves, being processed and canned in glass in the late 1800’s. 

From Caprese Salad, to Creamy Tomato Bisque, tomatoes are the feature veg. in many dishes.  Below is my personal basic tomato sauce.  I use it for lasagan, various pastas and an accompanyment to Italian meatball sandwiches.  Best of all, it is super simple.

Basic Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 Large can of whole Roma tomatoes

3 Whole peeled garlic cloves

3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

5 fresh basil leaves chiffonade*

Instructions

Empty the can of tomatoes into a bowl and crush them by hand.  Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a sauce pan.  Once the oil will sizzle when sprinkled with water add the whole garlic cloves until they begin to brown slightly.  Stir in the crushed tomatoes to the pan of oil and garlic.  Bring to bubbling, cover pan and lower heat to medium low.  Allow mixture to simmer for 20 minutes.  Using an immersion blender or countertop blender puree mixture until smooth.  Take particular caution when blending hot liquids. Add pureed sauce back to pan and season with kosher salt, red pepper flakes, and basil chiffonade.  Heat on low for 10 minutes. Serve over pasta, over toast topped with a fried egg (Eggs in Purgatory), or add meatballs and serve on an Italian loaf.  Serves 6.     

*To chiffonade basil, overlap leaves in a stack, roll in a cigar-like tube and slice thinly across the roll.