- Coming up on "The Key Ingredient:" Today, we're talking homegrown tomatoes.

And any way you slice them, we will show you how they can be the key ingredient in delightful ways, from pie to panzanella.

So I'm gonna stir this together and let it hang out on the counter until these tomatoes release their juices.

We visit world-famous Tomato Man, Craig LeHoullier, for some tips on gardening and seed-saving.

- [Craig] I've grown about 4,500 varieties.

- Really?

- I have seeds.

I probably have somewhere around 50,000 packets.

- And we cook along with my friend Jay Bastardo for some seafood gumbo with a Latin twist.

This is the most interesting tomato stew I've ever had.

That's next.

I'm Sheri Castle.

I write cookbooks, I write for food magazines, I cook, I teach, and I collect stories.

And my favorite stories are the ones behind our best-loved home recipes.

Can you eat just rice like this?

- You could try.

- All right, here we go.

Oh, that's awesome!

I will go out and explore, from the ground up, the best ingredients that go into some of our most beloved family recipes.

It's all about the food, the flavors, and finding the key ingredient.

[lively music] Homegrown tomatoes are a harbinger of summer.

You know when you see these beauties, fresh and bursting with flavor at your farmers' market, it's time to pull out your favorite tomato recipes.

Whether it's a tomato pie or just a good old-fashioned tomato and mayonnaise sandwich, there's no limit to the goodness.

Hey!

- How you doing?

- I'm good.

I'm looking at your maters.

Look at these little teardrop guys.

This looks like you picked up sea rocks at the beach.

- [chuckles] They're a little more tender, though.

- Yeah, thank goodness, right?

[vendor chuckles] If you don't know how to do a tomato, or you don't know which ones are best for the recipe you're looking for, just ask the grower.

They're gonna know for sure.

[bright music] - So this one is called margold.

It's really nice and sweet, and it's got a little bit of a tropical kind of fruit flavor to it.

- Is it gonna have that beautiful striping on the inside too?

- It totally does.

- This is great.

Thank you so much.

- Yeah, thank you, Sheri!

- It is always good to see you.

[lively music] [bright music] My friend Craig LeHoullier is a world-famous expert on growing heirloom tomatoes that are prized for their flavor and history.

He's the one that gave the beloved Cherokee Purple its name.

Through great gardening tips and seed-saving, Craig sees to it the all sorts of fabulous tomatoes get their day in the sun.

- Who's knocking at my door?

- It's me.

- Sheri.

- Hey, friend, how are you?

- Welcome to Hendersonville.

- Oh, it's so good to see you.

- It's great to have you here.

- Thanks for letting me come over today.

- We are gonna have some fun, lots to talk about.

- I cannot wait.

- Let's enter the world of tomatoes, a la me.

[Craig chuckles] [bright gentle music] I am Craig LeHoullier, and my role in the world seems to be to be the world's heirloom tomato expert.

I'm known as N.C. Tomato Man, and I just roll with that.

I amassed this huge collection.

And so what I end up doing is getting lots of emails from people every day, from all over the world, answering their tomato questions.

I've written my books, I've done a course.

What I'm doing now with the gardening world seems so much more fulfilling because I'm helping people grow great food and telling lots of stories along the way.

[gentle music] [bright music] - So, Craig, clearly we are in the tomato room.

[Craig chuckles] What all do you keep in here?

- It's so exciting to have you see the brain trust of my operation here, Sheri.

So, let's just take an example.

I have tomato seeds, eggplant seeds, and pepper seeds that have been saved for years.

So let's just look at this one.

I use a code.

T 17-3 means I grew that tomato in 2017.

It was the third one I saved, and it is called Dwarf from Tirrenia, three to six-ounce smooth oblate chocolate.

So I have a little notification.

Everything is backed up to an Excel spreadsheet.

If I lost my Excel spreadsheet, I'd be in big trouble.

And then I've got my library here where I just kind of do my research.

- [Sheri] All different tomato books, including the ones you've written.

- This one goes back to 1863.

So I love knowledge, and I love communicating with people.

And this really is the culmination of the different seeds I've collected over the years and the different information I've learned about.

So I'm never lonely.

- So, Craig, I have grown many tomatoes.

Lord knows, I've eaten a lot.

But you know what I have never done is plant from seed.

Can you show me how to do that?

- I would love to show you how to do that.

Want to go?

Let's go do it.

- Let's do it.

All right, thanks.

[jazzy music] [bright music] - A lot of people freak out about it, but starting your own plants from seeds is really, really easy.

There's a few tools of the trade that I really like.

I've got these plastic 50-cell, plug flats is what they call 'em.

They have holes in the bottom.

Do you see?

- Uh-huh, for the drainage.

- I've got some really good planting medium here.

- And you just buy that.

- This one is called Metro-Mix 830, but any good seed starter.

- Okay.

- And I've sieved some, because we're gonna use that as well.

- Okay.

- And the seeds we're gonna plant, it's called Dwarf Mocha's Cherry, which is one of our varieties that, little purple tomatoes and a three-foot-tall plant.

- But no matter what tomatoes, this is your method.

- This is exactly how it works.

- Got it.

- [Craig] So I like to fill these right until you're about maybe a quarter inch below the top.

So if you wanna fill up these two and take it on the same level.

- Got it.

- Feels good, doesn't it?

- It does.

It's very, very soft, almost like talc.

- All right, so the next step: I like to water these down a little bit before I plant- - [Sheri] Is this just tap water?

Do you do anything?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- So now, and this is what's different from the way a lot of people plant seeds.

A lot of people would put one seed per cell, which is absolutely fine, but I want lots of plants.

So here are my little Dwarf Mocha's Cherry seeds.

I'm just gonna take a pinch.

And 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, that's about 10 seeds.

- No kidding.

- And if you want to- - So if you've got that in this many cells, you're gonna have a little forest.

- I'm gonna just take pinches of sieved material, and just sprinkle until I can't see the seeds anymore.

- So that's why you sieved it.

So you're just getting just light little- - Because I don't any of those chunky bits in it, yeah.

- [Sheri] Got it.

- And now we're gonna just take a sprayer, just a little bit of a mist.

Because what you're gonna do, we're gonna take a little piece of Saran Wrap and just drape it.

- We just made a little greenhouse, didn't we?

- We made a little greenhouse.

- [Sheri] And then you'll leave them in there how long?

- I'll leave them in front of that window for about two weeks, because then they'll start getting leggy because they'll be reaching for the sun.

That's all there is to it.

- That's great.

Thank you, thank you.

- You're welcome.

[gentle music] [upbeat music] - I am making tomato panzanella.

It's a tomato-and-bread salad.

It's one of my favorite things to do with juicy, ripe, miniature tomatoes.

[upbeat music] Now, I learned to make this on a great trip to Italy a few years ago.

So I am combining olive oil, really great sherry vinegar, and then I'm going to put in some salt, some sugar, and some dried Italian herbs.

This is gonna meld into this oil and bloom the flavors.

So in the end, I'm gonna get this great little bit of dried richness with that burst of fresh basil at the end.

That was a little bit of finely-chopped shallot.

And these are capers.

Next time you're thinking about adding pickles or olives to something, I want you to try capers.

They are such a great salad ingredient.

And last, but not least, here come some delicious chopped garlic.

Fresh garlic, always.

You want that burst of flavor.

What this is, is the foundation of my tomato mixture.

Everything I've put in here is not only going to add flavor, it is going to encourage these gorgeous tomatoes to release their natural juices.

The juice of a grape ripe tomato is part of this dressing, and the salt, and the sugar, and all that is going to encourage them to release their moisture.

Now I'm gonna stir these, and I'm going to make sure that every tomato is coated with some of that delicious dressing.

And then I'm gonna let it hang out a little while, maybe 10 minutes or so, so that these ingredients can work their magic, release that tomato juice, and turn into an astonishingly delicious, unusual, sweet, tangy dressing.

Now, the sidekick to these tomatoes is some bread.

And in Italy, they use leftover baked bread.

It's the bread that they have hanging around.

And the stale bread at my house is more often than not cornbread.

So I'm going to use cornbread cubes in my panzanella, and I'm gonna show you how to do that.

[mellow music] [bright music] Spread the stale cornbread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Sprinkle with a little salt and lots of black pepper.

Bake until the cubes are golden and firm, but not rock hard.

Let cool on the baking sheet.

So for those of you who are loyal viewers, you know I made my famous cornbread in an earlier episode.

For those who haven't had a chance to watch, it's not too late to redeem yourselves.

Look at what happened in this bowl of tomatoes when I transferred them into this gorgeous serving bowl.

Those juices have come out and joined the party.

So now we have this amazing tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil mixture that is going to be the perfect dressing.

Now I'm gonna add a couple of more things to this mix.

These are roasted red peppers that I've just cut into little bite-sized strips.

This is gonna add sweetness and another kind of vegetable.

And for crunch, color, and because they're so cute, I am adding a cup full of those sliced seedless cucumbers.

Let me give this a quick stir, and then it's going to be time for my cornbread.

This goes into the mix pretty near serving time.

Just scoop it in.

I like the big pieces, I like the little crumbs that come loose in the oven.

I want you to tumble the entire thing in.

There we go.

Don't miss a one.

And then give this sort of a folding action at this point.

The goal is for this cornbread to absorb some of that delicious dressing.

And you can do this a little bit ahead, but not so far ahead that this cornbread turns soggy and starts to fall apart.

It's this interplay of textures between the tomatoes, the vegetables in this cornbread that makes this panzanella so special and so delicious.

Now, the last thing I'm gonna do is add some fresh basil.

And I have a great trick to show you.

I've just snipped the basil leaves off of the plant, and look at what I'm doing.

I'm taking the larger leaves, and I'm making myself a little bundle, and I'm gonna tuck some of the smaller leaves inside.

And then I'm gonna roll this up so that the outside leaf is holding everything else together.

And then I'm gonna take my knife, and I'm cutting down from the top.

Look at how pretty that is when that falls into the bowl.

This is not only my favorite cornbread salad, this is my favorite tomato salad.

It's interesting, yet familiar.

It's colorful, it's got great texture.

No matter how you serve it, people are gonna love this, I promise.

[dreamy music] [lively music] In his restaurants and home kitchen, Jay Bastardo prepares family recipes from the Dominican Republic, with fresh ingredients that flourish in Eastern North Carolina, where his cooking builds community.

[lively music] Jay invites us into his kitchen to share his seafood gumbo, which starts with ripe red tomatoes from his garden.

[lively music] Hey, thank you for having me over today.

- Thank you for being here.

- So what are we gonna make?

- So today, we're gonna be making a salsa criolla, which is native to our country, the Dominican Republic, and we're gonna be using lots and lots of tomatoes.

- Wonderful tomatoes.

So what are we gonna do with that sauce once it's made?

How do we serve that?

- So that's gonna be the base.

And in the Dominican Republic, it's the base to a lot of different dishes, right?

So today, we're gonna be using what we call an asopao back home.

Here in the United States, we call it a gumbo, so.

- A gumbo.

- Yes, ma'am.

- But most important question is who is our assistant here?

- Well, that is Chef Maiah.

- Maiah, I'm Sheri.

Thank you for letting me come to your house today.

- [Maiah] No problem.

- So I understand you normally help Papi cook, but today, what are you gonna do for us today?

- I'm gonna taste test.

- You're gonna taste test.

Well, I look forward to your opinion.

Thank you.

- No problem.

- All right, we're gonna get busy now.

See a little bit, okay?

- Okay.

- All right, friend, what's our first step?

- So we're gonna be chopping up some good stuff.

What we're getting ready to do is to make our base.

And in order for you to have a great base, you gotta have great fresh vegetables.

So we've got some peppers, some onions, red peppers, a lot of cilantro.

- [Sheri] And tell me what our seasonings are going to be.

- So the Dominican Republic is all about the spices, right?

And the Caribbean, we all know that.

So you're gonna have bija, which is what we have in the Dominican Republic.

You might know it by achiote.

- Yes.

- Then you have Spanish adobo.

You cannot go to a Dominican or a Spanish family and not have adobo.

Like, that is the heart of the entire operation.

You don't have adobo, you don't have flavor.

If you didn't have enough, we bring Sazon Completo, which is a complete seasoning.

- So this it: our vegetables, our three seasoning blends, and then ready to hit the pot?

- Ready to hit the pot.

- All right.

So we're gonna start our sauce.

What's our first step?

- First step, like most sauces, right?

So we're gonna make a sofrito.

So for that, we need some extra virgin olive oil.

Looking for a little shimmer, and now we're gonna start adding some of the goodness.

- Okay, so I see shimmering oil in there.

- That's right.

- That's step one.

And then spices, you say?

- Spices we go.

- Okay.

- [Jay] We got some Sazon Completo.

- You could smell that burst of that aroma.

That hot oil is blooming these, sort of.

- That's it.

- Is that what you'd say?

- That's exactly what's happening.

- And this is the adobo.

- [Jay] This is the adobo, so.

And again, you're gonna, you know, put some love in there.

- And then you just wanna cook these until the aroma comes out?

How will I know when it's in there long enough?

- [Jay] Well, the cool thing about food is that it speaks to you.

- It does, doesn't it?

- It does.

So you can hear, and she's gonna tell you exactly when they're ready for me to put some more of the other ingredients.

So tomatoes is next.

- Tomatoes, 'cause they're juiciest.

[tomato sizzles] Oh, listen to that.

So you're getting some caramelization on.

- That's exactly what's happening.

So you're gonna get them to caramelize and break down.

But first, you gotta make the sofrito.

Sofrito's gotta be done right.

And then we go with some of the cilantro, right?

So, a lot of folks would chop these up.

- Interesting.

So you're putting that herb in early, which is counterintuitive from what I'm doing, but that's really interesting to me.

- So remember, we're dealing with a citrus fruit, which is gonna break down all the other ingredients.

- Got it.

And there's salt in these spice blends, right?

- There's already salt built into all these blends, so we don't have to be adding any extra salt.

- Okay.

- So we're definitely talking about caramelization.

- Uh-huh, and then your onion.

And you're gonna put both colors of onion at the same time.

- One for sweetness, the other one just to break down in color.

[vegetables sizzling] Some red and green pepper for flavor.

- And then I love that you're using celery and the leaves.

I think people don't appreciate celery leaves enough.

- Well, this is one of the most flavorful things you can ever put into anything.

We're gonna add more tomatoes.

- And more tomatoes on top, and then another layer of everything else.

- We're just gonna throw it all in there.

- You're clearing the board.

- Clear the board, clear the board.

- So are you gonna stir this, or are you leaving these layers just as you want 'em?

- Just as I want 'em.

Put the pot on it, and come back with a little bit of water.

- Got it.

And about how long is that gonna take?

- This will be a four-hour process.

- The whole thing?

- The whole thing.

- You betcha.

Okay, so I'm just gonna hang tight.

- Hang tight.

- And when you tell me it's time to put in water, we'll put in water, right?

- We'll put in water.

- I believe you.

- Thank you.

- All right.

[festive music] - So that's the char from the tomato, right?

So that's exactly what you wanted to see.

That's the reason why I layered it the way I did.

We're gonna put a little bit of water just to keep it going.

- Just to keep it moving.

- Just to keep it moving, that's it.

- Without making it watery, okay.

[steam hissing] So this is just gonna continue cooking, and softening, and breaking down until, what's it gonna look like when it's ready?

- It's gonna look like a sauce, so everything's gonna pretty much just break apart.

- And so you cook with the lid on or off?

- On.

- All right.

- Let's put it back on.

- Let's put it back on.

And voila.

- Voila.

[festive music] [bright music] - I cannot wait to see this.

[gasps] Look at that.

It's just like you predicted, as you knew it would do.

- That's right.

- So I see all these beautiful seafoods.

What do we have here?

- [Jay] So we're gonna be dumping it as we go.

And it's gonna be a gumbo.

- So the seafood's gonna go in, just like your vegetables went in, in the right order.

- That's right.

So we're gonna put them in layers.

We're gonna add the lobster first.

- [Sheri] The lobster.

- [Jay] Then we do some shrimp, calamaris, and we use some clams and muscles.

- [Sheri] So you've added all that shrimp, those calamari rings, all those good things.

- We got muscles, we got clams, and now we add some of the rice.

- And so it's still cold.

- That's right.

- Straight from the fridge.

And I bet that that beautiful broth is gonna bloom that rice, warm it up.

And is it gonna take on some of that flavor as it warms up?

- It's gonna take on all the flavors that the seafood, and the tomatoes, and everything else is releasing.

And what you're gonna do is you're gonna have like this very smooshy rice, so.

And are you ready for the secret ingredient?

Oh, yes.

- Okay.

So this is something that got passed down to us from my grandmother.

This is called pickled garlic.

- Pickled garlic?

- Mm-hm.

- [Sheri] So I see it's in the jar there.

Tell me what your brine is.

- [Jay] So we have some vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and lime juice.

- Love that.

- Seal that back up.

This is the last time we're gonna be sealing stuff up, so.

- And just until the rice is tender?

- Mm-hm.

- We'll be ready.

[opulent music] Friend, these are spectacular.

This is the most elegant tomato-based thing I have ever seen.

All right, let's do it.

- Let's do it.

- I'm gonna start with some of this great broth.

[opulent music] Oh, my friend, that is so good.

I love that there are all these layers of flavor, but yet, it's simple 'cause you've let each ingredient, the tomatoes, the seafood, the herbs, those seasonings do their job and speak for themselves, and it's all together.

Friend, I cannot thank you enough.

This is the most interesting tomato stew I've ever had.

- I'm glad you came in.

- All right, do I get to come back someday if I act right?

- I'll think about it.

- Okay.

[Jay chuckles] [playful music] [bright music] I am making tomato pie, one of my favorite things to do with fresh, juicy heirloom tomatoes.

[bright music] [gentle music] What I have here are tomatoes I cut up about 15 minutes ago, and I salted them.

That is going to start the seasoning process, but what it's really doing is it is encouraging these tomatoes to release a little bit of their moisture.

So I'm just gently blotting the last of that tomato juice off the top.

And these guys are good to go.

Now, I have this amazing filling that's gonna bring these tomatoes together into a pie filling.

And what's in the bowl so far is shredded Gruyere cheese and some finely-chopped scallions.

Now I'm adding lemon in two forms.

So I'm gonna use the zest because that zest is gonna punch up that bright citrus flavor.

I am gonna add just a tiny squeeze of fresh lemon juice for measure, just a few drops.

Now from there, I'm gonna add more flavor to this.

I'm gonna add a little bit of salt.

This is celery seed.

It's one of my secret ingredients in this filling.

And then plenty of good black pepper.

Now, the last thing is going to be mayo, maybe a half cup, just enough to bind these ingredients together.

Just a little bit of stirring, and already, we have our filling ready.

I love how these scallions look, this little bit of green that's gonna go with these tomatoes.

Next step is to take my pre-baked pie shell so that it's already crisp against these tomatoes, and I'm gonna layer in about half of them.

So I've got the bottom of my pie shell covered, and now I am going to put in my Gruyere mixture and spread it around.

And I'm going to put in a little bit of basil, not a lot.

We're gonna put more basil on top, just a little bit to kind of carry that flavor through the middle.

And then I'm going to layer in the rest of my tomatoes.

Now, the last thing I'm gonna do is put a little bit of a topping.

So what I have in here are some crumbled saltines and some Parmesan.

The Parmesan is gonna give a little bit of a toasty finish to this.

Just a drop of melted butter.

Toss to coat, and then sprinkle it on.

And just like that, this tomato pie is ready to go in the oven.

And while this is in the oven, I'm gonna let you in on one of my favorite secrets on how to get that pie crust golden brown.

It's a great tip for blind baking a crust.

[bright music] [cheerful music] Some recipes call for baking an empty pie shell before filling it, a step known as blind baking.

This method is different from most recipes, but after someone showed me how to do it this way, I'll never look back.

[cheerful music] Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 350.

Start with a well-chilled pie shell.

Cold pastry going into a hot oven helps make the crust flaky.

Sit the pie plate on a baking sheet, which makes it easier to move in and out of the oven and helps the pastry cook on the bottom.

Cover all of the pastry with foil, leaving an overhang so that you can lift it out later.

[cheerful music] Fill the shell to the rim with granulated sugar.

The advantage of using sugar instead of dried beans or pie weights is that you can press it firmly to fill every corner, with no air pockets.

[cheerful music] Bake until the pastry is right for your recipe, from partially to fully baked.

Carefully lift out the foil to remove the sugar.

You can brush away any spilled sugar because it won't stick to the firm crust.

Don't discard the sugar.

You can use it in other recipes or store it in an airtight container to use again for more pie shells.

[cheerful music] So look at my beautiful pie.

It has been cooling, it is now room temperature.

And you know, that is the best way to eat this pie.

When it's too warm, you don't taste all the flavors.

And it's not good when it's chilled.

People love a tomato sandwich.

I know that they do.

But you know, this tomato pie can give a tomato sandwich a run for its money.

It is my favorite thing to do with gorgeous heirloom tomatoes.

[gentle music] [gentle upbeat music] Homegrown tomatoes bring happiness and delicious freshness to any dish.

That's why these gifts from the garden can be the key ingredient in your next recipe.

Hey, Daddy, I kept up my end of the bargain.

I got tomatoes.

You bring your fixins?

- [Lynn] Yes, and my fixings are a lot easier to get than good tomatoes like that.

- Well, that may be true.

- Probably.

- All right, are we gonna make one each or two each, or one each and take it gradual?

- We'll eat one, and then see what happens.

We may have to- - Wipe off and go again?

I've got good old reds, I've got those yellow, I've got those pretty stripy ones.

- Oh, boy, that's nice.

- What do you want first?

- [Lynn] There's more yellows.

Let's go with the yellow one.

- [Sheri] Okay, slightly appropriately squishy light bread.

You know, there's an art to the bread, too.

So it's gotta be soft enough to squish, but not so soft it falls apart.

- [Lynn] And there has been times when I wanted the mayonnaise as thick as the tomato slice, but maybe not that far.

- [Sheri] Well, yes, I think we all have those days, don't we?

[Lynn chuckles] - [Sheri] Oh, yeah, we've got some good juice coming out of these.

I think the best tomatoes for a tomato sandwich are ones that are right on the cusp of going round the bend.

- Uh-huh.

- You say when.

- That's good.

- Okay.

And I know you want more pepper than the average person would want.

- [Lynn] Okay, that's fine.

- Is that looking about right?

- Yes.

[gentle upbeat music] - Let's go, Daddy.

- Let's go.

- Cheers.

- Down the hatch.

[gentle upbeat music] - Mm, mm.

I think it's on my elbow.

That's good.

[chuckles] - You did great.

- Thanks.

- A person that doesn't know about a tomato sandwich has missed out a lot on life.

- That's right.

And if they don't believe, I'm not gonna waste my time on convincing them.

I'm just gonna eat theirs, mm-hm.

[gentle upbeat music] Mm.

[gentle upbeat music] [gentle upbeat music continues] [gentle upbeat music continues] For all the recipes from the show, visit our website.

It's where you'll find the key ingredient for a perfect time in the kitchen.