Heirloom Tomatoes...Now what???

I promise, not all my blogs will start talking about my boyfriend, just the first two. My boyfriend returned from his trip to Washington DC with heirloom tomatoes. Now, I would love to type I am sophisticated, elegant and use heirloom tomatoes all the time. When in truth I buy whatever tomatoes are on sale each week.

I have NEVER cooked with Heirloom tomatoes before. I have eaten heirloom tomatoes once or twice at a fancy restaurant, so I had no clue where to start. I decided to consult my library of cookbooks… I have a large variety of cookbooks; Nigella Lawson, Rachel Ray, multiple cultural books, wine and food cookbooks, and so on. However, none of my cookbooks gave recipes SPECIFIC to heirloom tomatoes.

What do you do when you can’t find recipes for a specific ingredients?

Wing it! (Yes, I do know I could have Googled it but what fun would that be!!!)

I took classical food profiles like red tomatoes and balsamic or fried green tomatoes and goat cheese. Here is what I came up:

Fried Heirloom Green Tomatoes with goat cheese on Filo Parmesan crisp.

Heirloom Green Tomatoes
Salt
Peanut Oil
Filo Dough
Cooking spray/oil/melted butter
Parmesan Cheese
Goat Cheese

Preheat the oven for 400 degrees

I diced the green tomatoes then cooked them in peanut oil on medium to medium high in a sauté pan for 10-15 minutes.

While the tomatoes cook, roll out the defrosted filo dough. Cut into bite sized portions. I made squares, but feel free to experiment with the shapes for your presentation. Spray the top with cooking spray or drizzle oil or melted butter, then top with parmesan cheese. Place on cookie sheet/pan and put in oven for 8-12 minutes. Cooking time varies with every oven. You are looking for a light, tan, crispy flakey texture.

Plate the dish by starting with the filo crisp then add the tomatoes. Lastly, dress the tomatoes with goat cheese.

This dish is simple but could be an appetizer on any menu. It also, looks pretty on a plate without trying.

PS- Feel free to switch out the Filo for toasted baguette or crackers.

Gourmet Roasted Heirloom Tomato Salad

Arugula/ Lettuce/Spinach/ a green of your choice
Fresh mozzarella (HEY, if I can find it affordably so can you)
Red Heirloom Tomatoes
Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt


Preheat your oven for 400 degrees

Slice the Heirloom tomatoes than place on cooking sheet/pan. Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and salt to taste.

Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until caramelized, juicy and dark red on top.

Toss the green of your choice in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Place cooled roast Tomatoes on greens. Add mozzarella. Lastly drizzle with Balsamic.

Again, this is a simple recipe that you can find on many menus, but it is cheaper at home. Plus, both of these recipes easily lend themselves to entertaining.