Photo from Richmond-based food writer Tim Vidra's recipe for Aftertaste.
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The tomatoes are in! While they've been on sale at Glade Road Growing's farm stands for weeks, they've finally arrived in sufficient quantities for the vegetable share, along with basil, garlic, summer squash, onion and a pepper (plus a beets or kohlrabi, which I'm not including in this recipe, as I featured them last week.
If it were cooler, this might sound like the perfect time for ratatouille. But, arrgh, it was in the nineties this weekend and will still be high eighties now that the heat wave is "over." Who feels like cooking? I don't. Last week, in her newsletter, Sally suggested grilling or using a crock pot in the evening to keep the house cooler, but I thought, why not something raw?
If the tomatoes in your bag are the large heirloom slicers, as shown above, great. If not, no problem. I'm not sure how many tomatoes you'll be getting, so, if there are fewer, enjoy what you get and use any extra stuffing in pitas or tossed with cooked pasta and/or beans that have been chilled. The original recipe called for cukes and dill (and no squash, sweet pepper, onion, garlic and basil) so I made some changes.
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3-4 tomatoes, topped and cored with a paring knife
1 summer squash, stem and end cut off and diced
1/4 sweet pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped, divided into two portions
2 teaspoons onions, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, peeled, smashed and diced finely
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1. Sprinkle the inside of each tomato with salt. This will pull the juices from the tomato and into the well.
2. To make the dressing, combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, onion and a pinch of salt and pepper, whisking to combine.
3. Dice the tomato top/core and add to the prepped squash, sweet pepper, crumbled feta and half of the basil. Pour the dressing over the diced ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Scoop the salad into the cored tomatoes and garnish with remaining basil.
