It isn’t Summer without Tomatoes

Last year I had such a good time growing tomatoes that I just had to do it again this year. And gratefully, I’ve been blessed with an abundance of fruit again. Last year it was because I had 7 tomato plants. This year I pared it down to 3, and yet, here we are.

Back in March, I picked up a few new varieties at a high end nursery in Newport Beach that had a huge sale of hybrid, unusual and heirloom varieties during a weekend they called “Tomato Mania”. The dark, purplish cherry tomatoes turned into a bush that nothing could hold back. “The Beast” outgrew the tomato cage in the first few weeks. It’s tentacles reached so high they had to be suspended by rope to the patio cover! There are likely several hundred cherry tomatoes growing on it, fortunately, in various stages of ripeness, but still, so many are ready to eat NOW.

As when presented with an over-abundance of anything, I race to the cookbooks to find ways to use them up.

I have been reading Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and found “Summer Tomato and Herb Salad”. It sounded simple, yet fabulously flavorful. I made that, along with a Turkey Cheddar on Rosemary Sourdough Sandwich for lunch today. Everything was incredible.

Let’s start with that one. I used a combination of my Lemon Boys and the Cherry Tomatoes for it.

Summer Tomato and Herb Salad

2-3 mixed heirloom tomatoes, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Tomato Vinaigrette (see below)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed, stemmed, halved
1/2-1 cup any combination freshly picked leaves of basil, parsley, chervil, tarragon or chives, chopped

Slice the heirlooms and place on a serving platter in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle just a bit of the vinaigrette on them. Separately, combine the cherry tomatoes with salt and pepper and dress with the tomato vinaigrette. Mound the cherry tomatoes on top of the heirlooms. Dress the fresh chopped herbs with a bit more dressing, salt and pepper to taste, mound on top of the cherry tomatoes and serve immediately.

Tomato Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp diced shallots
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. aged balsamic vinegar
1 large or two small very ripe tomatoes (about 8 oz)
4 basil leaves, torn into large pieces
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
Sea salt

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

Another delicious dish with tomatoes: Carmelized Onions with Balsamic Cherry Tomato Tarts from the Half Baked Harvest website. This was an absolutely delicious taste sensation. I made it for lunch recently and served it with a side salad. It’s easy to make. I didn’t even roll out the puff pastry. I just cut a sheet into 4 sections. That served 2 people more than adequately for lunch. You could make smaller versions and serve them as little mini tarts as appetizers.

Puff Pastry can be purchased at your local grocery store. It’s usually found in the freezer section. It makes for a quick and easy way to create tarts, either sweet, or in this case, savory.

Both recipes made excellent use of cherry tomatoes and were amazing for lunch or a light supper.