Bite of summer: heirloom tomato
AT THE CHEF'S TABLE
The food that epitomizes the taste of summer for me is a fresh, ripe tomato.
I love the juicy, sweet flavor of a tomato that is right off the vine and still warm from the sun. My daughter loves the little ones, the way they squirt in her mouth. Tiny Wild Matt's cherry tomatoes and the orangy sweet flavor of the Sungolds are her favorites. She eats them like candy.
The seeds that have been passed down from one generation to the next are a precious commodity, a gift from mother to daughter, an heirloom. Companies like Seed Savers have helped farmers access some of these amazing tomatoes that are all different shapes, sizes, colors, aromas and flavors. Everyone seems to have their favorites and there is always one more that is new or old on the scene that you just have to try.
I heard about a tomato that is called Aunt Ruby's German Green that Prairie Fruit Farm's neighbor grows in rural Urbana. It is pale green with a pink "bottom." I can't wait to experience the subtle differences in flavor.
When you shop this year, mix and match the tomatoes with different sizes and shapes.
Tomato salads sell themselves on restaurant menus or at home. They are beautiful and delicious. I highly recommend that you do not put the tomatoes in the refrigerator at all. The chill seems to alter the flavor slightly and makes the skin tougher. Not a fact, just experience.
If you are not growing the tomatoes yourself, from your own backyard, then make a trip to Green City Market and buy them direct from the farmer. You have a great chance of getting a ripe, fresh heirloom tomato that was picked hours before.
When I was growing up, during the summer the tomatoes were always on the windowsill and we ate them when they were perfectly ripe. They were from our backyard. My mom liked them with a scoop of cottage cheese on top. I've moved on to shaved, local, cloth-bound Cheddar or a raw milk goat cheese called Moonglo, but the idea of cheese with tomatoes was planted way back when. Season the tomatoes with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Don't salt them too far ahead because the salt makes the juices run out if they sit too long, just add a little salt at the last minute and it brings out the best in the tomato!
Drizzle a little vinegar and oil over the top, add some fresh basil and it is summer!
Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris are the co-owners of Prairie Grass Cafe, 601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook.