Tomato Sandwich, Tweaked

Though I'm sure he doesn't mean to (he's a bonafide sweetie), this week contributor Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood mocks my lack of ripe tomatoes.

This time last summer I had yet to pick a tomato from my garden. While the weather this year has been depressingly similar, I ate my first homegrown tomato last week. Moving the plants out to our south-facing driveway, a heat sink that’s always about 10 degrees warmer than the beds in back, is why. Whether you have just one or a basketful or buy them at the farmers market, eat ripe tomatoes like this.

Deconstructed Tomato Sandwich

If you’ve been reading my postings for long, you’ve seen this before. But keep reading, because this year’s version is a little different. For those new the to DTS, here’s the backstory.

Fresh, in season, “real” tomatoes don’t need much embellishment. Salt, extra virgin olive oil, and good bread. (And mayo, which is basically more oil and egg, if you lean that way; I think Best Foods, Hellman’s to the easterners, is just fine, though you can make your own if you want.) But a traditional sandwich gets too messy if you load it up with tomatoes. So my version devolved to a pile of sandwich ingredients and skips the assembly.

Toast a few slices of good bread. For me, that means Ken’s, New Seasons wheat levain, or Grand Central campangolo. While the bread is toasting, slice the tomatoes, as many as you can eat, and sprinkle with flor de sal. Drizzle the bread with extra virgin olive oil (that’s the new part). Put a slice of tomato on a piece of toast, add a nice dab of mayo, and eat. Repeat as long as the tomatoes keep coming.