Tag Archives: heirloom tomatoes

A Great Heirloom Tomato Salad for Labor Day Menus

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Heirloom tomatoes are having an especially good season this year, not only here in New England where I live, but also in France where my husband and I traveled recently. Chefs everywhere seem to be giving them starring roles on their menus. At a restaurant on the south shore of Massachusetts, I savored a first course of multi-hued heirlooms cut into wedges, then drizzled with a basil and garlic sauce. Garnishes included some fresh ricotta and warm focaccia. Farther away in Paris at Verjus, a well known place in the city’s first arrondissement, one of my favorite dishes on their tasting menu was a plate of sliced heirloom tomatoes and roasted garlic cloves tossed in cider vinaigrette. Both these Continue reading →

Hot Fall Weather Brings Delicious Heirloom Tomatoes

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Heirloom Tomatoes in Fennel Seed Vinaigrette 1 2956x2369Although summer unofficially ended after Labor Day, the calendar says we have until the 21st before this season comes to a close. For those of us here in New England (and for plenty of others around the country) enduring scorching temperatures this week, summer seems far from gone. The upside of this warm weather has been that our farmers’ markets are still bursting with gorgeous produce, including corn, beans, okra, peaches, plums, and my favorite–countless varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

I am a sucker for buying these brilliantly hued tomatoes. I pick up reds like Cherokee Purple, yellows called Nebraska Wedding, orange strains labeled Jaune Flame, and greens such as Green Zebras. I also mix up the sizes, purchasing large orbs, slender oblong ones, and petite cherry tomato heirlooms.

You can use any of these varieties or your personal favorites in the following heirloom Continue reading →

BLT Summer Salad

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For this simple salad, heirloom tomatoes (choose red, green, yellow, deep purple, whatever your markets and farm stands have on hand) are marinated in a vinaigrette dressing and arranged on a platter or on individual plates. Mixed greens tossed in more of the dressing are added next. Crumbled blue cheese and bits of bacon are sprinkled over the salad as final flourishes. Offer this salad as a first course for a summer supper or use it as a side dish for a backyard barbecue. Or, pair it with some crusty bread and a chilled soup for a light luncheon entree. This BLT variation is as good as the sandwiches and just as addictive.

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