Tomato Salads & Pizza

Richard. Again with the Tomatoes?

Yeah. Sorry. But it is currently the shining thing that has my attention. To say that I am really into them right now is a gross understatement. A few months ago, I talked with a Fredericksburg farmer for about two hours all about tomato growing. Ridiculous, I know, but I find them to be excellent.

So here are a few things I have done lately with the tomatoes:

So that is an heirloom salad with avocados, pistachios, a little olive oil and some salt & pepper.

This is a Tomato Caprese Salad with mozzarella, basil, a balsamic reduction and some salt & pepper.

That is a salad out of the NYT that I found out about through Ann Althouse. It has peaches, red onion, cilantro, a little lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper. It is astonishing, though I didn't drain the liquid from the tomatoes as well as I should have.

My sweet friend, Carolyn Angiolillo, sent me some wonderful buffalo mozzarella.

Which I had to immediately try with a Mortgage Lifter and a Cherokee Purple.

I made a salad for the Aides that had an assortment of Heirlooms smothered in the buffalo mozzarella & walnuts, with a little red wine vinaigrette and some salt & pepper.

And finally, today I made a few Pizza Margheritas with the Heirlooms. I loved the color, but I was extremely impressed & surprised with the taste. Just that 15 minutes of heat really brought out the sweetness of the tomatoes, but still keep them nice and juicy. Astonishing.

The Frank

This is one of the salads we run during the summer & one of my most favorite things in the world. It is named after my Uncle Frank who loves the combination of these simple ingredients.

Ingredients:
Pint of Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
Half an Avocado
20 or so pitted Kalamata Olives
1oz of Blue Cheese
1/3 to 1/2 a Clove of Garlic, minced fine.
1 or 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1/4 to 1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Half the tomatoes vertically and put them on the plate.

Mince the garlic fine and then flick it over the top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle the Kosher Salt over the tomatoes as well.

Half your avocado.

Cut a grid in the avocado while it is still in its peel.

Spoon the avocado over the tomatoes.

Cut the Kalamata olives in half, vertically, and place them on the plate.

Break up the blue cheese into chunks and then add them to the top.

Drizzle the olive oil over the top of everything, and you have a near perfect salad.

---

This is The Frank we did for Mom's birthday. We used 3-inch rings as a mold and garnished the sides with some arugula dressed in olive oil and a little salt.

---

How to pit an avocado.