Only two things that money can't buy...
but even if you don't have homegrown tomatoes, this is worth making.
I've been holding off on getting any tomatoes at the farmers' markets so far this year; it's been an unusually chilly and wet summer (and it's usually chilly here in summer - dammit) and the tomatoes just haven't seemed ripe enough to be worth it yet. Plus, we really are right at the beginning of tomato season. But we got two tomatoes in the CSA box this week, so even though they still seemed a little sub-par I decided to use one of them to make a recipe I've had my eye on for a while.
After I put it all together (with a few tweaks for what we had on hand and what I know I like), I tasted it. Wow, I thought, that is really good. A taste-gasm even. Hm. Maybe that's what I'll call the recipe.
Then I let it sit for an hour for the flavors to mellow and blend and tasted it again.
Oh. My. God.
Friends, I present to youPomme D'Amour I Will Be In My Bunk Dressing (Or Soup As You Prefer)
Ingredients:
2 medium or 1 large tomato (doesn't have to be great, but better than out-of-season supermarket-styrofoam)
2 tablespoons moderate-quality balsamic vinegar (Note: even something like the Trader Joe's not-really-from-Modena-or-technico-balsamico fake-balsamic will work)
2 cloves garlic, minced, crushed, or (preferably) Microplaned
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked mixed pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Wash the tomato, remove the stem bit and any blemishes, and cut into chunks your blender can handle. (Ours is wimpy and inadequate, so I went for ice-cube sized pieces.) Add the balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, and blend well. With the blender running, drizzle in the olive oil and blend thoroughly - it will become lighter in color and thicker.
Allow to stand for an hour or more for the flavors to mingle.
Serve as a salad dressing, a dip for bread, a sauce over whatever sounds tasty, or just use a spoon and eat it by the bowl.
Dinner tonight is going to be quinoa tabbouleh and some garlic naan dipped in this stuff. NOM NOM NOM.
I've been holding off on getting any tomatoes at the farmers' markets so far this year; it's been an unusually chilly and wet summer (and it's usually chilly here in summer - dammit) and the tomatoes just haven't seemed ripe enough to be worth it yet. Plus, we really are right at the beginning of tomato season. But we got two tomatoes in the CSA box this week, so even though they still seemed a little sub-par I decided to use one of them to make a recipe I've had my eye on for a while.
After I put it all together (with a few tweaks for what we had on hand and what I know I like), I tasted it. Wow, I thought, that is really good. A taste-gasm even. Hm. Maybe that's what I'll call the recipe.
Then I let it sit for an hour for the flavors to mellow and blend and tasted it again.
Oh. My. God.
Friends, I present to youPomme D'Amour I Will Be In My Bunk Dressing (Or Soup As You Prefer)
Ingredients:
2 medium or 1 large tomato (doesn't have to be great, but better than out-of-season supermarket-styrofoam)
2 tablespoons moderate-quality balsamic vinegar (Note: even something like the Trader Joe's not-really-from-Modena-or-technico-balsamico fake-balsamic will work)
2 cloves garlic, minced, crushed, or (preferably) Microplaned
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked mixed pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Wash the tomato, remove the stem bit and any blemishes, and cut into chunks your blender can handle. (Ours is wimpy and inadequate, so I went for ice-cube sized pieces.) Add the balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, and blend well. With the blender running, drizzle in the olive oil and blend thoroughly - it will become lighter in color and thicker.
Allow to stand for an hour or more for the flavors to mingle.
Serve as a salad dressing, a dip for bread, a sauce over whatever sounds tasty, or just use a spoon and eat it by the bowl.
Dinner tonight is going to be quinoa tabbouleh and some garlic naan dipped in this stuff. NOM NOM NOM.