Today I tried a new addition to my lunch. (Are those audible gasps of shock I hear? no? Just the fan you say?) A sandwich version of pan con tomate. Actually, this is such a bastardized version that I don't think you can still call it that, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. I got the idea for this tomato sandwich from an article last week in the nyt gushing over ways to use the abundant (abundantly gushing? perhaps. oh dear) tomatoes now in season. Thank you Melissa Clark! One of the more simple (elegant?) recipes was for toasted bread rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil, further rubbed with tomatoes, and perhaps a sprinkling of salt too. I like this as you get these bright and harmonious flavors and textures to come together quickly. With this simple idea in mind I made an "adaption" that would transport more easily to work.
Over the weekend, I went to a farmers market for some fresh nectarines. I also picked up some green/red heirloom tomatoes. These have the most amazing flavor. The main flavor is an intensified tomato but with the smallest hint of bitterness. Oddly, they taste vaguely salty, which is not a flavor I have ever found in homegrown tomatoes before.
For the sandwich I toasted some asiago/olive bread last night and let it cool till this morning The garlic, sadly, was omitted lest my co-workers grow angry (I already occasionally nasally assault them with cooked broccoli). One slab of toast was drizzled with olive oil while the other was covered with centimeter thick slices of the farmers market tomato (and a dash of black pepper). I let the liquids seep into the bread as I got ready. I then tightly wrapped the bread in plastic. When I ate it later it has a soft middle with a satisfyingly crunchy exterior and the great flavors of the bread, tomato, and oil. We could call it tomato in crunchy bread or tomate en pan crujiente which is fun to say. I will hope "google translate" has not led me astray. Any better name suggestions are welcome.
ps: Why does blogger hate me? It seems to take my nicely typed paragraphs and squish them all into one giant super paragraph. Why can't it accept that smaller paragraphs make for nice reading? Rawr.
No comments:
Post a Comment