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08/03/2017 12:01 AMI came home from a glorious vacation with my daughter on the Jersey Shore.
Before I went to college, I spent every summer in Belmar, New Jersey. From the time I was a baby, it was the entire summer. As I grew older, it was day camp for a month, then Belmar in August and part of September. Older, it was overnight camp, with just a week or two in Belmar. As a teenager, I worked at one of our cousins’ gift shop, where I learned to sell gifts, run the cash register, and wrap presents. I had a couple of days off and every night off. I learned the facts of life from some older girls who were from “New Yawk” and necked with one boy in particular—not under the boardwalk but under overturned lifeboats.
This summer with my daughter (me old and her married), there was no romance on the beach, but there was pure joy. Four days in the Atlantic Ocean, our butts in our sand chairs, toes in the water, eating oysters for dinner, reading novels. We saw two movies (The Big Sick and Baby Driver, both very good) and slept sort-of late. She woke me up to French vanilla iced coffee she’d bought at a local Dunkin Donuts, which she knows I love.
On the way home (after I drove her to Philadelphia for a conference), I made it to Newark in less than two hours, then almost five more to get home. I thought about what I had home for dinner. Were local tomatoes available yet? Not yet. Should have gotten some from a farmer’s market in New Jersey. And next week I promised to make a tomato salad for 40 people. Well, at least I can get tomatoes at Whittle’s—not really local, but mid-Connecticut anyway. This recipe is from Susie Middleton. It looks wonderful.
Basic Tomato and Bread Salad
From Fine Cooking, August/September 2017
Yield: serves 6 to 8
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup thinly sliced shallots
8 ounces rustic Italian bread, sliced ¾- to 1-inch thick
1 ¼ pounds beefsteak tomatoes
1 pound ripe tomatoes of your choice
½ cup torn fresh basil
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced (optional)*
In a small bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Add shallot and stir to combine.
Heat broiler or gas or charcoal grill to medium high. Brush bread slices with olive oil on both sides and season lightly with salt. Broil or grill bread, flipping once, until nicely toasted, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer bread to cutting board, then tear or cut it into ¾- to 1-inch pieces.
Cut tomatoes into pieces from ¾ to 1 inch and transfer to a large bowl. Toss tomatoes with the dressing and a good pinch of salt and let sit for 5 minutes.
Toss the tomatoes with the bread, basil, mint, sun-dried tomatoes (if using), ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Let sit, tossing occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
*I am not at all fond of sun-dried tomatoes. I do, however, love oven-roasted tomatoes. Here is how to make them: Heat oven to 300 degrees with two oven racks. In two parchment-covered sheet pans, place plum tomatoes, halved and cut-side up, on the pans and lightly dust with salt and freshly grated black pepper. Very lightly drizzle tomatoes with extra-virgin olive oil. Place pans in the oven and let roast for about 3½- to 4 hours. Allow to cool. I then put them in small plastic bags and freeze them. I buy the plum tomatoes when they are pretty cheap, in mid- to late September. I might buy a bushel. Use roasted tomatoes all winter long, in chili, stews, pastas sauces—anytime your recipe calls for canned tomatoes.