PORCHSCENE: Exploring Southern Culture

Tomatoes on the Southern Spread

Temperatures are beginning to cool off a little bit here in Tennessee, and sadly, that signals the end of the unrivaled joy of homegrown tomatoes. As far as I’m concerned, nothing can beat a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or a sliced tomato on bread, slathered with homemade mayonnaise and maybe a slice of Vidalia onion. Plain ole sliced tomatoes are a great side for southern dinners like butter beans, corn, okra, cornbread, and—hold on, healthy people—fried chicken.

Plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, Roma tomatoes all have a place on the food table. I have to admit that since I discovered Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes ten or so years ago, I’ve become just as big a tomato snob as I am a coffee and shrimp snob. For me, no other variety can match the rich taste when they’re sliced or used in salads, tarts, or pasta sauces. They’re pricey, so, for say, a vegetable soup or gumbo that requires simmering for a while, I use something less expensive that provides the tomato flavor but doesn’t need to be something that has the same depth of flavor. Cherokee Purples aren’t perfectly round, usually green toward the stem, a deep crimson everywhere else, and flesh that looks a little like raw meat. Some think they’re ugly, but I think they look like what a tomato ought to look like, and they taste like I think a tomato should taste.

There are a gazillion culinary uses for the versatile fruit. Yes, tomatoes are technically a fruit, not a vegetable. I’ve already mentioned some, but there are endless ways to enjoy them like bruschetta, juice, lasagna, or salsa. Since the season will soon be over, I decided to use them in a couple ways I’ve never tried. One is gazpacho, but with a bit of a twist, in that, it’s somewhat creamy, and the other is my first attempt at tomato pie. We’ve published a recipe for tomato pie in the past that you’ll also want to check out.

http://porchscene.com/2013/08/19/tomato-pie-at-the-moose-cafe-in-ashville-nc-by-lyla-ellzey/

Both of these recipes have plenty of room for experimenting with your own innovations. I’ve used heirloom tomatoes in both of these, Bradley in the Gazpacho and Cherokee Purple in the Tomato Pie.

Creamy Tomato Gazpacho

Ingredients

1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded
1 small red bell pepper, seeded
3 large ripe tomatoes
1 ½ cups buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream (depending on the desired tartness)
2 green onions or ¼ cup white onion, chopped

Small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Leaves of two fresh thyme stems
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

¼ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon kosher salt

Tabasco to taste

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumber, red bell pepper, and tomatoes.
Combine the above with the green onions, garlic, buttermilk, vinegar, kosher salt, parsley, and thyme in a food processor or blender and puree. Slowly add the oil.    Season with salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste.

Refrigerate until very cold

Serves 4

Tomato Pie

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie crust

4 red, ripe, heirloom tomatoes, sliced

fresh, chopped basil to taste

two or three green onions, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup mayonaise

1 cup shredded ricotta or mozzarella

1 cup shredded cheddar

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions

Slice the tomatoes 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick

Prebake the pie crust  in a 350 degree oven until it’s lightly browned

Combine the basil, garlic, green onions, mayonaise, and cheeses.

Season with salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste.

Arrange the tomato slices evenly in the bottom of the prebaked pie crust.

Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden

Photos: Deborah Fagan Carpenter