Summer produce - farmers market sourced or from your back yard farm is to be celebrated.
It is a fleeting and wonderful thing and we should all make the most of it. Tomatoes command a top spot on the list of summer delights simply because a summer-ripened tomato is really the only tomato one should eat.
Those poor pale things that show up in our markets at other times of year make you sad. That is not to say I have not occasionally succumbed to the purchase of an out of season tomato - it is a long dry spell without them. All the more reason to make hay and eat tomatoes while the sun shines!
Tomato sandwiches are a deeply held personal belief in the South. We are talking white bread, Duke's mayonnaise, tomatoes from the garden, salt, and pepper. The bread comes presliced in a bag from the grocery store and the salt and pepper from a shaker. That's it and there is no wiggle room at all for hardcore believers.
So - apologies, because I personally love that sandwich, but I also love olive oil. I especially love the flavor of
McEvoy Ranch Jalapeno Olive Oil with summer tomatoes, corn, grilled vegetables, grilled halibut and stuffed fried squash blossoms.
Reading a recent food blog and thinking about how to make the most of this high point of summer bounty encouraged experimentation. The results are an expanded view of the tomato sandwich which I will call tomato toast so as not to offend.
Ingredients
2 slices seeded bread (Della Fattoria Seeded Wheat is a great choice if you live where it is available.)
3 ounces soft-ripened cheese (Brie, Camembert, Brillat Savarin, etc.), divided
1 large or 2 small heirloom tomatoes
Sea Salt Flakes (Smoked salt is good here too.)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons
McEvoy Ranch Jalapeno Olive Oil, divided
Directions
Slice bread 1/8" thick.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on both sides of the bread.
Toast bread in a skillet over medium heat.
Remove toast from skillet, slice cheese and cover the top of each slice of toast.
Slice tomatoes and place on top of the cheese.
Sprinkle with Sea Salt Flakes
Drizzle with McEvoy Ranch Jalapeno Olive Oil.
Ah - Summer! Now - go pour yourself a glass of
Bonfiglio Vineyard White Blend and pull up an Adirondack!
Enjoy!
