Happy days! It’s ‘mater season — get ‘em while it’s hot!

Nothing like sitting on the back porch enjoying the first BLT of the season made with locally grown tomatoes and bacon. Local lettuce is great but given the summer heat can be difficult to find at this time. Honestly, I’ll skip the lettuce, sometimes even the bacon, and go straight to some thick locally grown tomatoes and a healthy shmear of my favorite mayo on toasted bread. There is nothing like raising that still warm sandwich, juice from the tomatoes dripping down to my elbows and digging in with gusto — simple fare at its freshest and finest.

The BTM and sometimes L is not the only thing you can do with tomatoes, but it seems to be my annual ritual, ushering in the start of the new tomato season.

Hey, you say, “What’s so important about tomato season anyway?  Heck, we can buy tomatoes 24/7/365, right?”

My question is, “Can you really?”

Can you really call those things you buy in January at the supermarket tomatoes?

Sure, they are round, sort of red, and look like they may have been picked off a stem, but that is where the resemblance ends. Flavor is what counts in my book for the real identity of a tomato. Moreover, I suspect given the flavor of supermarket tomatoes, they are closer to Styrofoam than food.

On Saturday, to exemplify this point we will sample out a variety of locally grown tomatoes from our market vendors, in a side-by-side comparison with supermarket tomatoes.  Let us see who is super after all.

In addition to the taste test, we’ll be making some delicious tomato basil bruschetta.

Tomato Basil Bruschetta
8 oz local tomatoes, diced
2 oz fresh basil chiffonade
1 tsp dry basil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper

French bread Crostinis

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, overnight is best. For the crostinis, slice the French bread into ¼ to half inch rounds, brush with olive oil and toast in oven or broiler. Serve the tomato mixture on top of the crostinis and garnish with a little extra fresh basil.

Blistered Tomato Basil Bruschetta

8 oz Cherry Tomatoes, whole
8 oz local diced tomatoes
2 oz fresh basil chiffonade
2 tsp dry basil
2 – 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
Basil Microgreens
Crumbled feta cheese
French bread Crostini, or bread of choice.

Procedure:

• Using a pre-heated, non-reactive skillet on high heat, dry sauté the cherry tomatoes until they are charred and well blistered.
• Place all ingredients, except crostini, into a bowl and mix well.
• Allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour for flavors to mingle and develop, overnight is best.

For the crostini:

• Slice the French bread into ¼ to half inch rounds, brush with olive oil and toast in oven or broiler until lightly browned.
• Serve the tomato mixture on top of the crostini and garnish with a little micro basil and grated cheese.

Additions and subtractions:  For some additional fun you can add many things to your mix.  For example, top the crostini with a little fresh mozzarella for a creamy addition.  If you like more, or less garlic, go for it.  It’s a free for all, really.

Also, don’t stop with vegetables.  Feel free to add some finely diced salami or sopprassata

Basic Tomato Sauce
3 Tbs olive oil
1 large or 2 small Bermuda onions, diced
2 chopped celery stalks with leaves, diced
1 carrot, fine dice
6 to 8 fresh market tomatoes, chopped, or 4 cups canned tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat saucepan and add the oil.
• When the oil has warmed, add the next 3 ingredients and sauté on medium high for about 3-4 minutes. We are just sweating the vegetables here, not browning them.
• Add the tomatoes and continue to cook gently (low), uncovered, for about 40 minutes.
• It helps to mash them occasionally with a fork, and make sure they don’t become too dry.
• Puree the cooked mix with an immersion blender in the pan or with a blender.
• You may run it through a fine strainer for an elegant touch, but I prefer to just puree and leave the goodness in.
• Season to taste.

Tips:

• Hot pan, cold oil is a good mantra to remember.  It helps keep things from sticking.
• If you puree this mixture while hot it will turn an orangish color.  Allow the mix to cool before pureeing to keep it red.
• There is some confusion about Bermuda onions, and many people believe them to be red onions.  They are not. They are a sweet white onion with a low Sulphur and high water content. I see many of these at the market. Vidalias are sweet onions.

I love this recipe for its versatility. It is just basic tomato sauce and can be seasoned, thickened, creamed, or added to anyway you like. Use butter instead of olive oil to make a richer sauce. Also, you will notice I have not called for Extra Virgin Olive Oil here. It’s not necessary. Use it if you like, but sometimes the base flavors of a basic olive oil here actually bring a lot to the party.

-Chef Mitch