Bruscetta al Pomodoro | Tomato-Mozzarella Tart | Spaghetti w/ Summer Clam Sauce | Corn, Tomato & Basil Salad | Panzanella | Pico de Gallo | Fried Green Tomatoes | Capellini w/ Roasted Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes

Brandywine. Oxheart. Striped German. Mortgage Lifter. Green Zebra. Cherokee Purple. Black Krim. Orange Banana. These names may not mean anything to the uninitiated. But to those of us who have tasted the rainbow, summer just wouldn't be summer without heirloom tomatoes.  

Heirloom tomatoes are those varieties--literally, hundreds of them--that if not for stubborn farmers and gardeners who resisted the quest for ever rounder and redder tomatoes, would probably be lost to the ages.

Thanks to this panoply of tomatoes, one is just a slice or two away from the sensual heights of summertime cuisine. Picture this: slice of bread, a schmear of mayonnaise, a thick slice of a dead ripe beefsteak tomato, salt and pepper. The juice runs down your chin as the tomato's heavenly sweetness and unabashed acidity meld in your mouth.  

Variations on this simple theme abound, with similar ecstatic results.  Add a crispy strip of bacon and a crunchy leaf of lettuce.  Toast the bread, rub with garlic, and sprinkle with torn basil leaves.  Better yet, forget the bread and layer fresh mozzarella and basil with different types of tomato for a multicolored caprese salad.  Just remember to have some freshly baked ciabatta on hand to fare scarpetta (sop up the juices). 

Varieties We Grow

We grow 50 varieties of tomatoes: beefsteaks, oxhearts, plums, cherries, large and small, flat and round, fat and skinny, red, orange, yellow, green, purple, pink and black. They are available for sale inthe following categories:

• Red Slicing Tomatoes
• Large Heirloom Tomatoes
• Mixed Small Heirlooms
• Plum Tomatoes
• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
• Mixed Cherry Tomatoes

Storage

Tomatoes should be kept at room temperature and used as they ripen. Refrigerating tomatoes causes their flavor and texture to deteriorate.

Root Cellar

Store unripe tomatoes in a cool location, loosely covered with newspaper.

Canning & Freezing

Tomatoes can be made into many different products for preservation: whole peeled tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, sauce, salsa, juice, etc.

Pomodori Pelati (Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes)

A week before you plan to can, pick your tomatoes and allow them to ripen fully at room temperature in a cool, dry place. You will probably need to throw away one or two when it comes time to can, but it’s crucial that the tomatoes are as ripe as possible. The Ball Blue Book (most Americans’ canning bible) recommends using only perfect tomatoes “free of cracks, spots and growths” but we disagree. So long as you remove all such imperfections you’re good to go).

First, assemble all the necessary equipment: Canning pot with rack, stock pot, strainer basket with handles, canning jars with screw-top rings and brand new lids, several large bowls, canning tongs and funnel, slender-headed wooden spoon with a long handle, clean dish towels, paper towels.

• Ingredients:
• Paste tomatoes
• Basil
• Salt
• Lemon juice

1.    Fill canning pot with rack half full with water and bring to a boil.
2.    Fill stock pot half full with water and bring to a boil for parboiling tomatoes.
3.    Wash all tomatoes and carefully core, cutting out any green, scarred, or bad spots. Lightly score with a sharp knife in an X shape to ease peeling after parboiling.
4.    Fill a wire strainer basket with handles with cleaned, scored tomatoes and carefully submerge in the stock pot of boiling water. Be sure to rotate all tomatoes on the top layer so that all sides spend a minute under water. Remove the basket within 3-4 minutes, and drain and place tomatoes in a bowl to cool. Repeat as needed to parboil all the tomatoes.
5.    In the meantime, wash all jars and rings in hot, soapy water. Use a bottle brush if you have one, or use a wooden spoon to push the scrubby side of your sponge around the bottom of each jar to remove any buildup. Cleanliness and sterility are imperative whenever canning. When your canning water is boiling place empty jars and rings in the rack and submerge to sterilize for several minutes. Do not sterilize lids longer than a minute. Carefully pour out water and place jars on a clean dish towel to dry.
6.    Using a paring knife peel all tomatoes and place in a bowl. Any previously unseen blemishes should be removed at this point.
7.    Fill jars with tomatoes, packing them vertically like pickles, and carefully jam the spoon down the side of the jar to release any air bubbles. This may create space to squeeze in one last tomato. Make sure all tomatoes are completely submerged in their own liquid. For pint jars leave ¼ inch of headroom; for quarts leave ½ inch.
8.    Add ½ tsp. salt, 1 tsp lemon juice and a few basil leaves to each quart jar (half these amounts for pints). Carefully wipe the lip and rim of each jar with paper towel. Place a clean, new lid on each and screw on rings.
9.    Place full jars in canning pot rack, quickly submerge in the boiling water, and close the lid. Process for 40 minutes for pints and 45 minutes for quarts from the time the water returns to a boil.

Recipes

Bruschetta al Pomodoro

There just aren’t enough days of the year to fully enjoy ripe tomatoes in season. The multitude of simple delicious ways to eat tomatoes inevitably surpasses the quantity of days in which to savor them.  This, perhaps, is one of the great sadnesses of living in the northeast.  But this is no time for lamentation; August is upon us. 

• Bread
• Tomatoes
• Garlic clove
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Basil leaves
• Salt

Toast slices of good bread and spread them out on a platter, rubbing each with a clove of garlic.  Drizzle good quality extra-virgin olive oil over all.  Arrange slices of fresh tomatoes on the slices of toast, and season with salt & pepper (and slices of fresh garlic, if you want).  Tear basil leaves so that they cascade down onto the tomatoes, and finish with another thread of olive oil.  Have extra bread ready to clean the plate with.

Tomato-Mozzarella Tart with Basil-Garlic Crust

This recipe has been a favorite of ours for years, adapted from Jack Bishop's The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook.

• For the Basil-Garlic Crust
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 medium garlic clove
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut in 8 pieces
• 4-5 Tbsp cold water

Place basil and garlic in the bowl of the Cuisinart fitted with the normal blade. Process until finely chopped, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add flour and salt and pulse to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture is the size of peas. Drizzle in the water and pulse until the dough comes together into a ball. Remove and flatten into a disc wrapped in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour.

• For the Tart
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
• 2 large, ripe tomatoes (about 1 lb), sliced thin
• salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Fit the dough into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Preheat the oven to 375. Line the bottom of the tart shell with mozzarella slices covering it completely. Arrange tomato slices over the cheese in an overlapping ring starting along the outside edge and another on the inside to cover the entire shell. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the oil. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has golden blisters, about 35-40 minutes. Cool at least 5 minutes before slicing, or serve at room temperature.

Spaghetti with Summer Clam Sauce

Red or white?  The age old vongole dichotomy is a purely American fabrication.  This is our version, a nice compromise.

• 1 lb. spaghetti, linguine, or cappellini
• 2 lbs. steamer clams, or 24 littlenecks
• 1-2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 head garlic
• 1/2 glass white wine
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• fresh basil and/or parsley, chopped
• salt & pepper

Scrub the clams and soak them in cold water for an hour or so to reduce the sandiness. Put up some water for the pasta.  Meanwhile slice or chop the garlic as desired and sauté gently in the olive oil in a large pan with a tight fitting lid. When the garlic is not yet brown but starting to get sticky, toss in the clams, tomatoes, and herbs. Put on the lid and cook over high just until the clams open, shaking everything around from time to time. Remove from heat and discard any unopened clams.  Sprinkle with pepper and taste for salt.  Now, at this point you have two options*: you can fish out the clams and scrape their bodies back into the sauce (makes it less messy and time consuming to eat) or you can simply toss your al dente pasta right in the pan and serve it up, steaming, brothy, shells and all.  Almost as good as being at the Cape! (Better yet, take your veggies with you and make it out there!)
*If using steamers, you’ll need to shell and de-”sock” them before returning them to the sauce.

Corn, Cherry Tomato and Basil Salad

• 3-6 ears sweet corn
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• few sprigs basil
• cider or red wine vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper

Cut the corn kernels off the cob into a bowl and mix with cherry tomatoes sliced in half. Tear the basil into the bowl and dress with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. This is the essence of summer!

Panzanella

• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• ½ lb. stale bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped (beefsteak) or halved (cherry)
• 1 cup celery, thinly sliced
• 1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 medium sweet red onion, thinly sliced
• ½ cup basil, chopped
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped
• salt & pepper

In a large bowl, mix the water with 2 Tbsp. of the vinegar. Toss the bread cubes in the vinegar water, then drain the bread in a colander, gently squeezing out any excess moisture. Combine tomatoes, celery, cucumber, onion, basil, parsley and bread and dress with oil and remaining vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Pico de Gallo

• 2 tomatoes
• 1 sweet red onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Hot chilies, to taste
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp sugar, optional
• 1 Tbsp vinegar, optional

Chop everything to a fine dice and toss with the liquids. Allow to sit for 1/2 hour to meld the flavors. Eat with tortilla chips or quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, etc.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Choose tomatoes for frying when they have a spot of color on the blossom end. They have much more flavor than fully green ones. Too ripe, though, and they go to mush in the pan.

• Green Tomatoes
• Cornmeal, flour, or a mix of both
• Salt & pepper
• Oil or bacon grease for frying

Mix the cornmeal, salt & pepper on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Heat your desired frying fat in a heavy skillet. Slice the tomatoes and dredge both sides in the flour mixture. The moisture from the tomatoes makes it stick.  Fry until golden on both sides. Serve as is or as your last tomato sandwich of the year.

Capellini with Roasted Tomatoes

One of the best things to do with fully ripe tomatoes at the height of the season is to oven-roast them.  The resulting concentrated flavor is similar to that of sun-dried tomatoes. Choose firm fleshed varieties, cut them into halves or wedges (depending on size), arrange them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake in a medium oven (375 degrees) until slightly shrivelled and starting to brown. Use these roasted tomatoes in numerous ways, including this pasta.

• 2 lbs small ripe tomatoes, roasted as above
• 1-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp Italian parsley, cut into fine ribbons
• 1 lb capellini (angel hair) pasta

Roast the tomatoes as described above and set aside. Heat half the oil in a wide skillet and saute half the garlic until just beginning to brown. Add the tomatoes. Sautee briefly to heat through and set aside. This mixture should be fairly dry and not soupy. Saute the remaining oil and garlic, add the breadcrumbs, and toast over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parsley and stir briefly to mix. Remove from the heat. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Boil the capellini until al dente.

To serve: Mix the pasta thoughouly with the garlic-tomato mixture. Serve in bowls and top with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan.