Heirloom Tomato Salad
Products needed:
Traditional 18 Year Balsamic Vinegar
Ingredients:
- The Heirloom tomato salad makes use of five different varieties of Heirloom tomatoes, all at room temperature. Additional ingredients for this recipe include the following:
- ½ oz fennel, shaved
- 1 oz Point Reyes blue cheese
- 2 oz Olive Scene mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 oz Olive Scene Traditional Aged Balsamic Vinegar
- 5 small basil leaves
- Fleur de sel (salt) (available at the Olive Scene) and fresh pepper to taste
Directions:
- Trim the ends of the tomatoes so that the core is approximately one and a half inches thick.
- Using a small round cookie cutter, cut the cylinders of the tomato and reserve them in a mixing bowl.
- Next, trim your fennel so that you will have just the bulb left.
- Shave the fennel bulb thinly using a mandolin.
- Place the fennel in ice water and allow it to crisp.
- The next step is to add the oil and vinegar to the mixing bowl with the tomatoes.
- Toss this mixture well in order to coat each tomato thoroughly and evenly and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Reserve the resulting liquid after tossing, which will be used for the tossing the fennel later on.
- Arrange the tomatoes in a straight line in the center of a plate, about one inch apart.
- Plate the crumbled cheese in the spaces between the tomatoes.
- Take your fennel from the ice water and drain it well.
- Add it to the liquid from the tomatoes.
- Toss the fennel in the liquid and place it on top of the tomatoes.
- Finish up your plate by garnishing each tomato with basil leaves.