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Fight Heart Disease
New Zealanders are being encouraged to help fight heart disease by saving space for a very special guest in their vegetable garden this spring, the Hearty Red Tomato.
Medical research shows that tomatoes could be the key to preventing blood clots that cause heart disease and strokes. That`s because the yellow jelly which surrounds tomato seeds helps keep platelets in the blood from clumping together, therefore eliminating the risks.
For every Hearty Red tomato plant sold at Mitre 10 outlets, 50 cents will be donated to the New Zealand Heart Foundation. So, not only are Hearty Red tomatoes a great way to boost your health naturally, but they`ll also help fund further research into the causes and treatment of heart disease.
Thanks to customer support, Mitre raised over thirty thousand dollars last year by selling over 60 thousand plants! Please help to support the cause this year too.
The Heart Foundation works with New Zealanders to prevent and reduce early loss of life from heart disease through funding research, cardiac care and rehabilitation and promoting healthy lifestyles.
Hearty Red Tomato plants should be available from your local store in Spring.
About Hearty Red Tomato Plants
Hearty Red tomatoes grow to about 1 metre high and are a delicious, juicy tomato with firm flesh and a medium-sized fruit. They need regular watering and feeding.
Tomatoes are heat-loving plants and traditionally planting starts in September. At least 3 months of frost free weather is needed to produce fruit. Let the tomatoes ripen on the plant before picking and store at room temperature.
The Hearty Red Tomato is very disease resistant and has proved to be popular.
Heart disease causes nearly half of all deaths in New Zealand each year. The money raised by Mitre 10 will help to continue life saving research into the cause and treatment of this, New Zealand`s number 1 killer disease.
Hearty Red Tomato Pie with Basil Sauce
Celebrity chef Garth Hokianga has invented a special recipe for cooking tomatoes - Hearty Tomato Pie with Basil Sauce. (Delicious!!)
Caramelized Onion
1 tbsp oil
2 onions, peeled & sliced
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
Ground black pepper
Basil Sauce
50 grams fresh basil leaves, washed
1/2 clove garlic, peeled
1 tsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 tsp grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
Filo Pastry
5 sheets of filo pastry (30cm by 42 cm long)
2 tbsp of olive oil
Tomatoes
5 large Hearty tomatoes cut crosswise into 1/2cm thick slices, discard the tops & bottoms of the tomatoes
Ground black pepper
3 tsp olive oil
Goat cheese
6 round slices goat cheese, 1 1/2 cm thick
Salad
3 handful rocket lettuce washed
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
In a saute pan over a medium heat, add the oil, onions and thyme and season with black pepper. Cook until the onions start to caramelize - 15 minutes. When golden brown, remove and set aside.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Plunge the basil into the boiling water and blanch for 10 seconds. Drain the leaves and hold under running cold water. Drain again and squeeze to remove excess water. Put all the ingredients into a food processor. Process until smooth then transfer to a container.
Lay the first sheet of pastry on a flat surface, brush with oil and lay another filo sheet on top. Repeat this process with the remaining 3 filo sheets. Using a 12cm round plate, cut the filo pastry into 6 discs. Place the discs on a cookie tray. Spoon a desert spoon of caramelized onion onto the centre of each pastry disc. Arrange the tomato slices on the top of the onion in an overlapping circle - 3-4 tomato slices per disc. Season with black pepper and sprinkle with olive oil. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 - 23 minutes.
To assemble and serve, arrange the warm tomato pie in the middle of a plate, with a slice of goat cheese in the centre. Place a small amount of salad around the pie and drizzle a tsp of basil sauce around the plate.
Serves 6.
This recipe meets the Heart Foundation`s Recipe Development Guidelines.
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