Sicilian Heirloom Tomato Salad
There seems to be no end to the talk of "organic this" or "heirloom that" and being rather pragmatic about these things, I often wonder how much merit there is in going out of your way to buy these beautifully colored tomatoes- unless it is purely for the optics.
Obviously (I would hope!), an organic, sun-ripened tomato is going to taste better. But how much better can one variety taste than another? In my opinion, I KNOW what the flavor of a wonderful tomato is, even if I don't always end up having it... but can't really claim to have had any one particular kind that really was any more outstanding than another. And I still maintain that- if it's good: it's good! Period!
So here is the low-down on this lovely little selection of tomatoes from Sicily. These were small tomatoes- you can see the scale of them pretty clearly when you consider them next to those basil leaves. I cut each one of them into 3 horizontal slices- just because they looked prettier that way. The red ones were as you might expect, deliciously sweet and rich, the green a little milder and the yellow, surprisingly enough, tangier and more robust. So to be honest, if it were to be flavor I was to be looking for- I would just to stick to my plain old red tomatoes- there, I've said it!
At the time, having said that, I HAD now sliced up the tomatoes and layered them with basil leaves. What I needed was a dressing. For this, I mixed 1 part white balsamic vinegar, to 2 parts orange juice, to 3 parts olive oil. I shook this together well, then added a little honey and then shook it again until it was well mixed.
I poured the dressing over the tomatoes and basil, then sprinkled it with coarse sea salt, a little pepper and a scattering of fresh thyme- pretty simple but very delicious! It is not always about re-inventing the wheel- much more just enjoying the ride!
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