Ingredient: Tomatoes

A variety of tomatoes, green, beef, cherry, some are cut in half and most are whole.

Italian food without tomatoes feels unthinkable now, but they have only been part of it for about five centuries, arriving in Europe in the 1500s from the Americas with the Spanish explorers.

In Britain, they took their time to become popular as not everyone had a greenhouse, and southern Europe had better weather to grow them outdoors.

Tomatoes contain a decent amount of vitamin C and potassium but their star nutrient is lycopene. It’s the compound that gives them their rich red colour, and you absorb it much better when tomatoes are cooked with a little oil. So a slow-simmered sauce with a good glug of olive oil is not just comforting for you, it’s very nutritious. Tinned tomatoes are a surprisingly good option here as they are picked and processed at peak ripeness, which means they often contain more lycopene than fresh ones bought out of season.

Remember to get the right variety. A plum tomato is better in a ragu than a cherry tomato, which is better roasted, and heritage types can have a sweetness that standard supermarket ones just don’t.