Countless are the virtues of the tomato, not surprisingly it is called "red gold".
The French in the past have attributed to this vegetable by the color red like passion, aphrodisiac properties calling for this pomme d'amour or "apple of love". Even the Anglo-Saxons adopted the term in the French and their language became the tomato "apples of love", it is said that even Walter Raleigh, the founder of the island of Roanoke , donated a plant that vegetable to Queen Elizabeth of England, appointing him to the just apples of love.
The tomato, a native of the area of Central and South America and the southern part of North America, arrives in Europe in 1540, when the Spaniard Hernán Cortés returned home carrying a few plants, but in the second half of the seventeenth century that begins its spread and cultivation. For his arrival in Italy, it was not until 1596 and soon became a must of its cuisine.
The healthful properties of tomato were examined by the researcher Adana Llanos Ohio University. According to the study of this researcher and his colleagues, tomato thanks to the presence of lycopene a compound from antioxidant effect but especially capable of increasing the levels of hormones responsible for the regulation of the metabolism of fats and sugars, would be able to prevent the breast cancer, especially in postmenopausal women.
During the study, we compared the effects of two different diets rich in tomato and soybean another in a group of 70 postmenopausal women. For 10 weeks, the participants took in their diet at least 25 milligrams of lycopene per day and in another period ( the same duration ) the same were invited to consume at least 40 grams of soy protein per day. The researchers found that the diet rich in tomato has been able to grow by 9 % levels of adiponectin, a hormone that regulates the levels of fat and sugar in the blood, instead of the same levels were decreased during the diet of soy. The study also showed that the benefits of a rich tomato in the prevention of breast cancer was higher in women with a body mass index lower; combat obesity is so vital.
Based on this evidence consume tomato can be useful in the control of body weight (100 grams of tomato in jar contains about 28mg of Lycopene ), and as usual, a recipe that combines tomatoes with soy.
Soy sauce
carrots , celery, onion golden
garlic
140 grams of granulated soy
1 liter of tomato sauce
white or red wine firm
a few basil leaves
2 sage leaves
a sprig of rosemary
1 bay leaf
Procedure:
Rehydrate the soya in boiling salted water, drain and squeeze as necessary to remove excess water. Prepare the base of the pan with the garlic, carrots, celery and onion, cook everything in the hot oil and when ready add the granulated soy , sauté and cover with wine.
As soon as the wine evaporates, add the tomato puree, adjust with salt, a pinch of sugar or fructose and aromas. Cook for at least an hour.
Bon appetit!
Andrea Busalacchi
