Finally!

The salad that I’ve been waiting for finally made its appearance last night! I had enough assorted tomatoes in the garden to make my first Heirloom Tomato salad.  I have to tell you, I can taste the difference in each and every heirloom tomato.  There’s a flavor there that simply isn’t in any other tomato.  Even regular tomatoes from the farmer’s market can’t match the flavor of the heirlooms.  They’re simply bursting with tomato flavor.  Whether they’re juicy tomatoes or not, they have so much more flavor than a standard hybrid tomato.  Yesterday we got to try three more varieties of tomato.  The first was another early tomato, called a Sub-Arctic Plenty. This one is bursting with juice and tomato flavor, and when these ones start to go nuts, these are the tomatoes that I will use to can tomatoes for chili and such.  They’re a simple standard red tomato- slightly smaller in size, but oh my, are they tasty.

I also was excited to find that three of my Roman Candles had turned yellow, and two of my Green Zebras had picked up their yellowish hue.  The Roman Candles are definitely very much like a roma.  Their flavor is less pronounced, and they are also far less juicy than other tomatoes. They’re perfect for a salad, because they don’t get all watery like other tomatoes.  I bet they’d be fantastic roasted too.   But my clear favorite of the season so far this year is the Green Zebra.  This one has flavor that I have never experienced in a tomato.  It was like a party in my mouth- it has a citrusy tang that other tomatoes don’t, yet it’s not acidic at all like I had actually expected.  They are delicious, and go right to the top of my favorites list, barely edging out the German Red Strawberry in terms of flavor.  Here is a picture of the Green Zebra on the cutting board.

So what did I do with all these gorgeous tomatoes?  I chopped them up along with some fresh basil from the garden.  I added some buffalo mozzarella that I cubed up and then I dressed the salad.  I added a drizzle of olive oil, a drizzle of real balsamic vinegar, and then I pulled out the fleur de sel. Only the best would do for these tomatoes.  This was the best salad I have ever had.  Maybe I just anticipated it so much, wanting all those tomatoes to combine in a medley of deliciousness, but it was just so fantastic.  I ate two helpings at dinner, and then a few hours later while watching Olympic swimming, I helped myself to a rather large bowl of the leftovers.  I love how each and every tomato made each and every bite different.  The caramel notes from the balsamic and the basil played together beautifully, and I can’t wait to make it again.  The heirloom tomatoes are definitely worth the trouble to grow.  If you can get your hands on some, don’t hesitate!