I thought that I had missed them this year. Every time I went to the green market, I checked all the stalls, starting with Tim Stark’s Eckerton Hill Farm where they had been available for the last few years and never found him or the jewel-like tomates de milpa (literally field tomatoes) that I had been anxiously anticipating. I first discovered this tiny wild Mexican variety in the markets of the Los Tuxtlas area of southern Veracruz. But last week there they were, glistening in the bright sun, at Windfall Farms, the place where I normally buy squash blossoms though this year I missed them too. I grabbed two little half-pint containers and happily paid an outrageous $5.00 for each, brought them home in a paper bag, and promptly forgot about them until this morning. They were a little the worse for wear, but I knew they’d still be good and started to look forward to making them for dinner.
This ancient species (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium) came into Central America from the Andes millennia ago and are used to make tachogobi, a garlicky, hearty sauce, mostly eaten with fish but that would also go marvelously well with pasta or chicken cutlets as I had them tonight.
Field Tomato Sauce (Tachogobi)
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- 1½-2 tablespoons extra tiny fresh hot chiles
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 12-13 ounces red or yellow currant tomatoes (see above) or very small, sweet grape or cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons lard, preferably
home-rendered
Instructions
- Place the garlic, chiles, and salt in a blender or food processor and process for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes and process just until the ingredients come together in a chunky sauce.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the lard to rippling over medium-high heat. Add the tomato mixture, bring to a boil, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes to mellow the flavors and concentrate slightly.