We spent a week with some French relatives of my wife’s family in Burgundy when tomatoes were still ripening. The cook/housekeeper had the simplest salad de tomate imaginable – just tomatoes cut into meaty chunks, salt, pepper, olive oil and a little vinegar, left at room temperature for a while and then brought to the table with a light garnish of fresh parsley. To do that here I have to either be in Tennessee at the peak of the season, or in SoCal hit up the farmer’s markets for good heirlooms … though Whole Foods and even Ralphs sometimes has decent ones. Mrs. O is more a vinegar than oil person so I have to compromise on that too. And it’s easy enough to lean towards caprese with basil and fresh mozzarella, or towards Valerie’s version with feta; I use the Israeli Pastures of Eden feta from Trader Joe’s.
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