You say Tomato, I say Tomato Sandwich: Two end-of-summer recipes

I want to personally invite you to an event I’m hosting in Seattle on Saturday, November 8! 

Last year I hosted Cascade PBS’s first ever Food Fight, a silly, high-energy, game show-style event featuring food trivia, games, audience participation, local chefs and prizes.  

This year, my special guests are the hosts of America’s Test Kitchen! We’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of their TV show, and a new cookbook, with another round of trivia and prizes – plus, Julia and Bridget will take us behind the scenes of ATK, pulling back the curtain on how they develop and test recipes. You’ll also have the opportunity to join them on stage for some fun food-inspired games! Your ticket includes a copy of the America’s Test Kitchen 20th Anniversary TV Show Cookbook. 

Get tickets here! 

It’s officially fall in Seattle, which means my tomatoes are finally ripe! I spend June, July and most of August scrolling through Instagram, enviously watching as folks in warmer parts of the country slice into perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes while mine dangle on the vine, unripe, doing their best Kermit the Frog impersonation.  

When it comes to eating my homegrown tomatoes, I don’t get too creative. There’s no need! The last thing I want to do is cover up the naturally delicious flavor they worked so hard to achieve all summer long. Here are my top two favorite ways to eat them: 

If you want to make a friend, or start a fight, tell someone in North or South Carolina how to make the perfect tomato sandwich. Southern folks have very strong opinions about what should, and more important what shouldn’t, be in a tomato sandwich. 

I first learned about this simple delicacy from Sam Beam, the singer/songwriter and guitar player behind the band Iron & Wine. Sam, who grew up in South Carolina, told me he wants a stack of tomato sandwiches for his last meal, constructed in the traditional Southern style. I’ve been hopelessly hooked since my very first bite, and wait all year long for my tomatoes to ripen so I can eat as many of these sandwiches as possible.  

The “recipe” is drop-dead simple: 

• Squishy, untoasted, white sandwich bread (I like potato or buttermilk). 
• A generous slather of Duke’s mayonnaise. It has to be Duke’s mayonnaise. (It’s a Southern brand with a cult following that is now sold at Fred Meyer in the PNW! It’s sugar-free, which is very hard to find, so it’s extra-tangy!) 
• Thick slices of the most perfect, ripe, juicy tomato you can find, preferably homegrown or from the farmers market. (I prefer orange heirloom varieties.) 
• Salt (Flaky! Be generous!) 

Southerners will tell you: This is not the time for bacon; that’s a different sandwich. Don’t you dare toast the bread. It’s intended to be a single texture: soft. 

I eat mine open-faced, so the tomato directly hits my tongue. They taste best if you eat them standing at the kitchen counter. You’ll probably immediately make a second one. Maybe a third. One of the best parts is the tomato juices mingling with the mayo. It’s also excellent with a chiffonade of fresh basil sprinkled on top. It makes no sense how delicious this uncomplicated tomato sandwich is.  

My favorite tomato sauce doesn’t spend hours simmering on the stove. There’s no red wine, no onions, it doesn’t even need garlic, and the measuring spoons and cups can stay cozy in the cupboard. All you need are the best-quality tomatoes you can find and some salt. I grow Sungolds and San Marzanos and cook them down together, which gives a nice balance of sweetness and acidity.  

• Warm some olive oil in a pan, on medium heat, then throw in a bunch of whole Sungold tomatoes and some chopped San Marzanos. I make small batches as my tomatoes ripen, enough for a pot or two of pasta or a few pizzas.  
• Roll the tomatoes around the pan for five minutes, and when they start to deflate, or take on a tiny bit of color, put the lid on, turn down the heat a bit and let them cook down and release their juices. 
• When the tomatoes burst, are visibly slumped and easy to squish when tapped with a wooden spoon, add some salt and a small splash of olive oil and blend until completely smooth and velvety. My Vitamix completely pulverizes all the seeds and peels. If your blender doesn’t, strain them out after blending. Taste and add salt, if needed.  
• Toss with pasta, freshly chopped basil and freshly grated Parm, or use as a pizza sauce and in any other recipe where its bright, deeply tomato-y flavor will be given the opportunity to shine.  
• Or freeze your sauce and defrost a jar of summer on a cold, rainy winter evening.  

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Have a food- or drink-related question? (Need a restaurant rec? Have a mystery that needs solving?) Send me a note: rachel.belle@cascadepbs.org 

XO 
Rachel Belle