Summer On A Plate

You know the song...

"You say tomato, and I say tomah-to".

Well, any way you want to say it -- I loooooove tomatoes.

My inner tomato glutton is completely satisfied with the move here to California, where the season stretches out for a satisfyingly long stretch. With most of August and September still ahead, I have a smile on my face of Cheshire cat proportions, just contemplating all the lovely tomatoes that are in my future.

With the focus of a true tomato junkie -- I headed for the farmers market first thing this past Saturday morning. A bright, sunny day (what?! August? In San Francisco? Impossible, yet true...) and the market was buzzing. With laser-like precision, I homed in on a makeshift corner of the market created by a stand with two sections -- one devoted almost entirely to tomatoes. Jackpot! A beautiful medley of Green Zebras, Brandywines, yellow tomatoes, Early Girls and who knows what else was mine! I also picked up a little basket of gorgeous tiny, Sungold cherry tomatoes the most gorgeous color of orange and the very essence of sunshine.

Next stop -- Lucca Ravioli in the Mission for some fresh mozzarella, good bread and... (you know it)...a couple slices of Serrano.

Could we call this my version of a Caprese Salad? I suppose. The Caprese, in my opinion, should be scrupulously avoided in most restaurants. I've seen too many sad, unappetizing plates tasteless cheese and under ripe plum tomatoes in recent years, to ever consider ordering it anywhere. But here's where your own gathering of perfect ingredients makes all the difference. (Kind of how I feel about Chicken Caesar salads too, but that's another story.)

But, then too, there are all sorts of funny "rules" in Italian cooking..."never add cheese to seafood", etc...so I'm sure I'm breaking some kind of rule with my choices here, and some elderly nonna from Capri would fall over in a faint if she saw that I add balsamic vinegar.

So be it.

There really isn't much else to say. The most perfect, basic ingredients yield something sublime to be enjoyed on a warm summer afternoon.

Buon appetito.

My "Caprese-style" Salad

serves 2 (umm, or one, serious tomato lover)

5 to 6 heirloom-type tomatoes (the more varied the colors, the prettier the salad), plus a handful of cherry tomatoes

1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, or buratta

handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

handful of fresh chives, chopped

your very best extra-virgin olive oil

your very best balsamic vinegar

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Several thin slices of Serrano ham

a crusty Italian loaf of bread to soak up the juices

1. Slice up your tomatoes however you like -- even the little cherry tomatoes should be split in half. The juice from the tomatoes mixes beautifully with the olive oil and vinegar to create a heavenly sauce at the bottom of the plate, just meant to be mopped up with bread.

2. Slice the cheese in thin disks.

3. Layer alternating slices of tomato and cheese, and scatter the small cherry tomatoes all around the plate.

4. Scatter the basil leaves and chopped chives all over the tomatoes and cheese.

5. Sprinkle with crunchy/coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

6. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic.

7. Drape the slices of Serrano however you like - I like to put them around the edges of the platter.

Dig in and taste the sunshine.

And don't forget to use your bread to mop up the delicious juices at the end.

Tomato Glutton

Oh the annual paean to The Tomato! I wonder… does any other fruit, or vegetable for that matter, achieve this much attention and such worship? So much is written about the glory of a summer tomato that I will humbly keep this short and offer you a couple of my favorite ways to eat them. The season for garden-ripe tomatoes is something I look forward to every year, and when they first begin to appear at the market, I simply can’t bear to cook them. Instead, I come home throw all the bags on the counter, root around to find the one with the tomatoes and then slice, sprinkle with salt and eat… while standing at the counter. Only after a few weeks am I willing to start cooking with them.

So, here we are in early September and I’ve been getting tomatoes in the CSA box for several weeks now. Call me crazy, but I supplement this with a weekly visit to my farmer’s market for a second batch of tomatoes each week. Hey. It’s a very small window of opportunity for a tomato lover, and I’ve got to make the most of it!

If you’re still in the I-Can’t-Get-My-Fill-of-Tomato-Salads period…here’s a beauty that I’ve been making for years. It’s from The Union Square Café Cookbook and it is both gorgeous and tasty. Can’t ask for much more than that! I make this regularly every summer, and it's unbelievable to me that it comes from a restaurant cookbook. I mean, where are the 48 steps? the obscure ingredients? the list of wacky kitchen equipment necessary to complete the recipe? (just so you know... the sight of the word chinois gives me a headache.) This is simplicity one can love.

Summer Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad
adapted from The Union Square Cafe Cookbook

(Servings are variable. One tomato glutton could, in theory, eat this whole thing...
or it could feed four, well-behaved people. Tomato varieties are also up to you...I like to mix it up a little with what I find at the market.)

2 red tomatoes -- go for that Brandywine you were eyeing at the market!
1 Green Zebra, if you can find it
1 yellow tomato
10-12, or a couple handfuls of grape/cherry yellow and red tomatoes
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1 small red onion, sliced thinly and soaked in ice water for 20 minutes (this works wonders at taking out the bite and crisping them up!)
12 basil leaves, thinly sliced into ribbons
5 oz. fresh soft goat cheese, crumbled
a drizzle of your best extra-virgin olive oil
a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinegar, if you prefer

Arrange the tomatoes on a platter, slicing the large ones into thin circles, and halving the small, cherry/grape tomatoes.
Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Drain the onions well and blot with a paper towel. Arrange over the tomatoes.
Sprinkle evenly with basil and crumbled goat cheese.
Drizzle with vinegar and oil.

Beautiful!



If you've moved on to the next stage of Tomato Gluttony and are willing to use a little heat, here are two of my favorite summer pasta recipes.



When faced with the prospect of hosting a meal in our overheated apartment in mid-August, a 'no-cook' sauce is, well, err, a no-brainer for me. A zesty mixture of tomatoes, olive oil, and, wait for it....brie cheese chunks (!) sits on the counter for a few hours, patiently waiting for some cooked linguine before serving. It's that easy. Pair it with some good Italian sausage, broiled or grilled, and you've got yourself a heavenly meal -- and minimal paper towel brow mopping. This version is from my original copy of The Silver Palate Cookbook, and it really is fantastic. Kids like it too. My four-year old nephew, Michael, wanted to know if this was "mac-and-cheese". I thought about it, and said, well, actually, yes, it is. He proceeded to demolish an enormous serving.

Summer Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil
adapted slightly from The Silver Palate Cookbook, original edition

4 ripe large tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 pound Brie cheese, rind removed, torn into irregular pieces (put the cheese in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make rind removal easier)
1 cup large fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1 lb. dried linguine
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, approx. 1/4 cup

Combine the tomatoes, Brie, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large pasta serving bowl, at least 2 hours before serving and set aside, covered, at room temperature.

Cook the linguine until tender but still firm, drain and immediately toss with the tomato sauce. Adjust pepper to taste, and toss with Parmesan cheese, to taste.


And, finally, my hero, Nigel Slater, roasts small grape or cherry tomatoes under the broiler until they're charred and blistered and oozing carmelized tomato goodness, before combining with pasta, basil and a dash of creme fraiche. This is one that I make sometimes in the winter when the little grape tomatoes from Florida show up at the store and I crave a bit of tomato sunshine.


Orecchiette with Roast Tomato and Basil Sauce
adapted from The Kitchen Diaries
serves 2-4

I got this book while in the UK so we're talking metric measurements and fun British ingredients. My copy is covered with notes and adjustments. In this dish he called for "double cream", and I've used creme fraiche as a replacement. Sigh...all those glorious British dairy products...

3-4 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes
4 fat cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
a drizzle of olive oil
1 lb. dried orecchiette
30 large basil leaves
4 tablespoons of creme fraiche
grated Parmesan or pecorino, to serve

Put the tomatoes and the slivered garlic in a roasting pan, drizzle with a little oil and place under the broiler. Leave them in until their skins are golden brown and black here and there and they are juicy and ready to burst.
As Nigel says...don't pussyfoot around here -- really let the tomatoes develop a good char... it will intensify the flavor.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a deep pan with generously salted water.

Remove the tomatoes from the broiler, and crush with a fork, skins and all. Drop in the basil leaves whole and stir to wilt. Add the creme fraiche, stir and taste for seasoning.
Eat straight away with a spoon or two of grated Parmesan or pecorino.

Sublime.