Sunday, June 3, 2012

Tomatoes with Vanilla and Mint

Tomatoes with Vanilla and Mint
{I made this a few weeks ago when peaches were in season, too.  I 'm waiting for my firswt watermelon to make this dish again for a dessert}
Softly perfumed with vanilla bean, this tomato and mint salad is so simple and perfect that you might have stumbled upon it yourself on a night with a sparse pantry and creative inspiration using ingredients you plucked from your pantry and backyard. Now you don't have to wait for that flash of brilliance to strike.

I’ve been picking tomatoes for the last few weeks on my regular Tuesday visits to Crooked Sky. I always hand my two children each a tomato to eat on the way back to the car since we’re always hot and thirsty.  A sweet snack of a perfect tomato, always bring me back to life.  



Yellow tomato pulp dripped all down the front of my daughter's shirt as she bit into the flesh and sucked on the juice.  


Yes, I know better than to just hand my 2 year old a tomato.  Despite my better judgement, I hope she cements that tomato into memory of what a pleasure it is to eat a just-picked summer tomato with sweat dripping down your cheek and fine layer of dust covering your body from tromping between the rows for the best one.

We took a few extra home and made the recipe I've been thinking about for months since I first spotted it.



It could easy pass for dessert, but we loved it as a first course.  With a wedge of brie and baguette, it could even pass for dinner.


Tomatoes and Peaches with Vanilla Bean Olive OIl and Mint
inspired by Not Without Salt’s recipe, which was inspired by The Walrus and the Carpenter menu item

ingredients
tomatoes, the sweetest and most flavorful you can find, sliced thick, about a ½ pound
peaches, the ones that smell sweet and like flowers, sliced into wedges, about a 1/2 pound
vanilla bean, or ½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
olive oil, extra virgin, best quality, ¼ cup
fresh mint, a good handful
sea salt, to taste

If you have a fresh vanilla bean, slice it lengthwise down the middle and with the tip of your knife, slide it along both sides of the bean. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and the vanilla bean seeds (or the vanilla bean paste).

Arrange the sliced tomatoes and peaches however you would like on a nice platter. Shingled is pretty, or just scatter willy nilly since it’s your house and you can do what you want.


Top the tomatoes and peaches with a Jackson Pollack style stream of the olive oil and season evenly and lightly with sea salt.  Finish with a shower of mint leaves.  It would be lovely to serve this simple dish with your good silver. I think it makes it taste better.




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