Heirloom tomatoes are bound to fill farmers’ market stands as July quickly turns into August. At first glance, these tomatoes may seem a bit odd. They aren’t always the red, round, evenly sized tomatoes you may have grown accustomed to seeing in the grocery store. These are multi-colored, different sizes, and lumpy, never bred to be firm or evenly sized for shipping. Instead, the seeds of heirloom tomatoes are selected for vibrance, juiciness, and flavor. Often times, these tomatoes are grown organically, locally, and without GMOs. However, the word heirloom isn’t regulated (much like the word “natural”) and commercial farmers and grocers will employ its use as well. As with everything, we recommend purchasing tomatoes from farmers you know and trust. An easy way to do this is by talking to vendors at farmers’ market stands or ordering directly. You can also check out farm boxes, like our buy one give one farm boxes from Tomatero Farm, where you know you’ll always get organic, local, trusted produce.
A delightfully vine ripened heirloom tomato is usually so sweet and flavorful that it can be eaten by itself! It can also be cooked into tomato sauces, chopped up for salads, or sliced on a sandwich. Anywhere you’d use a regular tomato, swap these to pack an extra punch of flavor.
Check out this great, simple recipe from Bon Appétit.
Tomato Toast
Serves 1
Ingredients
- Slice of toasted whole grain bread
- 2 Tbsp whole milk ricotta (or vegan alternative, like a tangy cashew spread)
- 1-2 slices of heirloom tomato
- Olive oil
- Oregano
Directions
- Toast the slice of bread. While a toaster will work, for extra crunch and flavor try toasting it in a pan with some olive oil.
- Slice enough heirloom tomato to cover the slice of bread, as thick as you like
- Spread the ricotta on the toast, layer on the tomato, drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle a bit of oregano