Perfection is fleeting, especially when it comes to tomatoes. Don’t believe me? Try making a fresh tomato salad in January.
I’m talking real tomatoes, perfect tomatoes. The kind that rest heavy in your hand. Something lightweight that looks like a tomato but has been plucked green in Mexico, hauled in a truck and dumped at your local grocery store is not perfection. It is a trick to make you think you can eat good tomatoes all year round.
You can’t.
Tomatoes are now. Late summer. Hot weather. Sunshine. Rain. Tomatoes so ripe they fall into your hand when you reach out to pluck them from the vine. Their skins are tight. Deep red, saturated with color. Go organic and do not be afraid of an occasional blemish. Handle them gently. Let your thumb glide over their tight skin. There should be some give if you push a little, but no softness. Soft tomatoes are for sauce. The firm ones are for salads or a wicked indulgence of a dinner of BLTs, a chilled glass of wine and a bowl of sliced peaches for dessert. Indulge yourself: this kind of wonderful only lasts a moment.
Late summer is the moment.
Find a friend who has a garden and ask if you might unburden them of a tomato or two. When tomatoes reach the pinnacle of perfection, their abundance can overwhelm even the most devoted of tomato lovers. Don’t have friends who grow tomatoes? Buy from a local farmer’s market.
Purchase as many as you can carry. Be kind. Share. You will be loved beyond measure for your generosity.
Years ago, we went with friends to a local restaurant and, much to our joy, discovered the bar was lined from end to end with ripening tomatoes. While we were having drinks, the owner served us a platter of grilled homemade Italian sausage presented on a bed of thickly sliced homegrown tomatoes generously salted and drizzled with olive oil.
Whatever else we ate that evening was quickly forgotten. But I will always remember those tomatoes.
A word or two about best tomato practices. Do not put them in your refrigerator. Turn them stem down and line them up on your kitchen counter. They like being at room temperature. Don’t let them sit there too long and go soft from age. Eat them on sandwiches, as a side dish with scrambled eggs, or as a bed for grilled fish or meats. If they start to soften, make a fresh tomato sauce or a quick batch of gazpacho.
Always sharpen your knife before cutting into a tomato. You want a clean cut that doesn’t mash the tomato and release all the juice onto your cutting board. Don’t own a knife sharpener? Use a serrated bread-knife for tomato cutting.
My favorite summer indulgence is a fresh tomato salad. Use one large tomato per person and adjust the other ingredients according to taste and how many tomatoes you are using. You’ll want to serve this salad with a crusty French bread so you can dip the bread in the remaining juice once the salad is eaten.
Tomato Salad
Serves 6
6 large ripe tomatoes
1-2 Tbs. of capers per layer of tomatoes, capers are salty, so adjust the amount of capers to your taste
I medium sized red onion, thinly sliced and diced
A large handful of fresh basil (needs to be fresh basil)
A generous pinch of salt per each layer of tomatoes
olive oil (1 Tbs. per layer of tomatoes if you are arranging tomatoes on a small platter...2 Tbs. per layer if you are using a large platter)
either red wine or balsamic vinegar, your choice (for every 2 Tbs. of olive oil, use 1 Tbs. of vinegar...in general with dressings you should use twice as much olive oil as vinegar)
feta cheese (optional)
Slice the tomatoes and arrange the first layer, one tomato slice deep, on a platter. Sprinkle with capers, thin bits of red onion, coarsely chopped basil and salt. Dribble olive oil over the tomatoes. Arrange a second layer of tomatoes and repeat with capers, red onion, chopped basil, salt and a dribble of olive oil. Continue arranging layers until you have used up all the tomatoes.
Sprinkle top layer with vinegar.
Top with feta (optional).
Cover and put the salad in the refrigerator. Chill for at least an hour to allow the vinegar to seep through the layers and mix the flavors together.
