heirloom tomato – Goboroot.com

I can’t think of any other way to celebrate the last week of summer than by making these salad dishes to enjoy every bite of the intense sun ripened ingredients. Today’s post is meant to help compile ideas for what you can do with these amazing summer fruits and vegetables to create simple dishes to enhance your garden party table or even a small kitchen table for two.

Heirloom Tomato & Bocconcini Salad

Serves 4

6 large heirloom tomatoes, quartered

1 clove garlic

4 bocconcini cheeses, sliced into ¼ inch pieces

A bunch of basil

Good quality extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the tomatoes and garlic clove into a large bowl. Using a pestle, smash the garlic clove and then roughly crush the tomatoes in order to let the garlic permeate.

Discard the garlic or save for another use. Transfer the tomatoes and their juices to a large platter. Scatter the cheese and basil leaves, drizzle with the generous amount of oil and adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with a piece of crusty bread.

Cantaloupe, Prosciutto & Bocconcini Salad

Serves 5 to 6

1 large cantaloupe

20 pieces prosciutto

4 bocconcini cheeses, sliced into ¼ inch pieces

A few leaves of Italian parsley, chopped

Good quality extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare the cantaloupe. My favourite way to cut a cantaloupe is to remove both ends first and place it on a cutting board sliced side down. Then I peel the skin using a fruit knife, slicing downward from the top (the other cut side) all around the fruit till finished. Next, quarter and discard the seeds trying to save as much juice as possible. Slice the quartered wedges into ½ inch slices.

Place the cantaloupe and its juice, prosciutto and bocconcini on a large platter. Scatter with the parsley, drizzle with the generous amount of oil and adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

French Pole Bean Salad

The secret to making fabulous French pole bean salad is to only use the very youngest, tenderest beans!

Serves 4

2 ears of corn, cooked and kernels stripped

2 lb young French pole beans, ends trimmed off

6 slices bacon, fried and sliced into ½ inch pieces

½ red onion, chopped finely

½ cup olives, sliced

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the beans in a pot of boiling salted water until soft but firm for about 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t over cook them. Using a colander, discard the hot water, and then plunge the beans in a bowl of cold running water to stop further discolouring. When cool, drain well and pat dry.

Place the onion, olives, vinegars and oil in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Toss the beans, corns and bacon in the vinegar mixture and marinate for about 10 minutes.

Transfer to a large platter and serve immediately.

When it comes to the season’s first home grown heirloom tomatoes, I want to enjoy them in minimalist preparations in order to taste their concentrated flavours of summer. As the season winds down, so does the taste of tomatoes, and this is the time to throw them in a pot with roasted garlic for creamy tomato soup or roast them for passata, but for now, here is what we are doing: Slice the tomatoes to 1/2 inch thick pieces, place on sliced grain bread with plenty of mayonnaise, freshly harvested basil leaves, salt and pepper, and voila!

Today’s post is more of a lesson that I learned regarding tomato growing than a recipe post. Truth be told, my heirloom tomatoes have been doing poorly compared to the previous summer, despite the fact we’ve been having a great dry summer and last year’s was wet. The reasons and solutions are:

a) Nitrogen build-up in soil.

My tomato plants had too much leafy growth and little fruiting. My friend, a pro gardener, pointed out that I have planted tomato plants in the same spot in our mini green house for a few seasons, applying rotted manure every spring: thus, nitrogen from the manure built up excessively. To avoid a situation like this, she suggested, as her father used to do, that I remove a foot high or so of soil from the area and replace it with new soil. Alternatively, she recommended that I simply plant nitrogen guzzlers such as squash or cabbage.

b) Too close to the south facing wall

A south facing wall is a perfect spot for heat loving stone fruit trees and such, but too much heat radiates from the wall for the tomato’s tender leaves. Although I have been trying to utilize unused space by growing containers of tomato plants, I will have to leave my containered peach tree alone there when the tomatoes have finished this year.

c) Tomato thief

One of our dogs turned into what we call a “tomato thief.” He was busted while having a grand time devouring ripened plum tomatoes that were grown for our Margharita pizza sauce! The tomatoes were growing at his eye height, so we will have to raise the bed higher for the next season!

What kind of tomato problems are you all facing?

Tag: heirloom tomato

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