Garnished Tomato Wings

Ingredients:
2-3 tomatoes, large
Method:

• Take a large sized red tomato and cut it into halves lengthwise.

• Place the tomatoes on the chopping board with the cut sides facing down. Make a small cut diagonally at the center of the tomato half.  Then make a second cut in the direction opposite to the first one and lift the wedge out.

• Keep cutting the tomato along the line of the initial cut and lift out each piece after cutting. Do this until there are two wedges of tomato remaining.

• Next, trim the stem from the wedges and discard.

• Place the tomato back into its original shape and shift each slice gently in order to separate them. Then open out the wedges at the bottom to form a pair of wings.

• Repeat the procedure with the other tomatoes.

• These tomato wings may be used as garnish in various dishes such as salads, rice and meat dishes.

• The same method can also be used to make red apple garnishes as well.

Health Benefits:

• Tomatoes are actually fruits and not vegetables and offer many different health benefits.

• Tomatoes are well known for being rich sources of lycopene, which is a major antioxidant that helps to fight the formation of cancer cells and other health problems.

• Lycopene in large amounts help to flush away the free radicals from the body and tomatoes contain this antioxidant in ample amounts. In fact, there is no other vegetable or fruit which contains such a high content of lycopene.

• Consumption of tomato also helps to enhance the texture and color of the skin.

• Tomato has natural antiseptic properties and helps to prevent infection and is also beneficial in lowering blood cholesterol levels and in preventing heart disease.