I’m not gonna lie to you. I love tomatoes. I love tomatoes so much that I have made it my life’s mission* to convert supposed ‘tomato haters’ into die-hard tomato loving extremists. You heard me right folks, tomatoes are good. I’m not talking about that transparent mushy thing in your hamburger, or the crunchy pinkish thing in your ’salad’. I’m talking about red, juicy, room temperature, giant tomatoes. The kind that have a flavor. They taste like tomatoes, the way God intended them to taste. Not the way Ralphs or Vons intended them, but God.
You can find these tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market (or I suppose at Whole Foods, but you’ll get a much better price and experience at a Market). Starting now until the Fall there will be 100 different kinds and they will all knock your socks off. My bet is that if you’re squeamish about tomatoes it’s because you’ve never had an actual ripe one. They’re supposed to be soft, delicate almost. They’re supposed to squish ever-so-slightly when you try to cut them. They’re supposed to taste good enough to eat it whole, on it’s own.
But whether this is all new to you or if you’ve been on the tomato train all along, please join me on a one way journey to Delicioustown by way of Tomatoville: Buy a giant, red, bulbous Beefsteak Tomato (this is a good starter tomato because it doesn’t look ‘weird’, it just looks like a picture of a tomato). Buy fresh mozzarella cheese: the kind that floats in water. Trader Joe’s has some decent ones. Buy some fresh Basil. Buy the Hazelnut bread at the Pain du Jour. Hopefully you already own some decent Olive Oil and Vinegar (I recommend Balsamic and some form of tangy rice vinegar). Slice the tomato, the cheese and shred up the basil. Put it on a plate. Make it pretty. Then drizzle the oil and vinegar ever so slightly over the cheese, add some sea salt and pepper.
Let’s pause here. It’s important that you do this for the first time by yourself. It will get messy. You will make weird faces of delight, shock and awe. It is better that no one sees this.
OK, sit down with this plate and carefully assemble an open face sandwich: Bread, cheese, tomato, basil. Add some more oil, vinegar, salt or pepper depending on your taste. If this doesn’t convert you into a tomato loving maniac then I guess you have no soul. [Editor's note: this is, in fact, a recognized symptom of having no soul]
Get your tomato on this Sunday at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market where Wong Family Farms is selling hydroponic beefsteak tomatoes.
*actual mission may vary
Both photos by me for Cityzine
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3 responses so far ↓
1 Mali // Feb 29, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I don’t even like tomatoes that much but that looks and sounds so good I almost licked my screen.
2 Mahatma Kane Jeeves // Mar 1, 2008 at 12:01 am
I enjoy tomatoes and shall spread word of this fine article!
3 Louis // Mar 1, 2008 at 11:34 am
Pfffft.
Who needs the bread?
Fresh ripe tomato + fresh basil + fresh mozzarella + olive oil = yum
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