Beefeater Salad

I may know my way around a cupcake, but Beloved is definitely the connoisseur in the family when it comes to tomatoes. The man can tell with uncanny accuracy in what part of the state a tomato was grown…and he doesn’t bother with “store-bought” ones. Unfortunately, this year his little garden has produced no tomatoes. The plants are large and produce lovely blooms…which promptly fall off. :( So… we spend Saturday mornings at the farmers’ market

It is a tomato lover’s dream—a smorgasbord of tomato varieties, shapes, colors, and sizes. Beloved prefers a very acidic tasting tomato and our favorite grower has been recommending beefeater tomatoes. Last weekend we experimented to try to reproduce a salad he’d had in a top notch steak restaurant.

The result was a salad that was not only tasty, but easy and colorful! A lot of bang for your buck!

Beefeaters Salad

Salad greens—we used romaine

Beefeater tomatoes, thickly sliced

Crumbled cheese of your choice—blue, feta, gorgonzola

Fresh basil, chopped

Capers, optional

Balsamic vinaigrette-commercial or homemade

My basil crop put his tomato crop to shame :)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon seasoned pepper

And while we’re on the subject of capers….we are, aren’t we? Beloved asked me exactly what a caper is. Do you know?

A caper, according to my sources, is a pickled flower bud of a usually spiny perennial Mediterranean shrub ( Capparis spinosa) that bears white to pinkish-white flowers. Isn’t it a gorgeous flower? No wonder those little jars are expensive.

I’ll be linking to my favorite foodie/novelist Michael Lee West for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum. You can get there immediately by clicking on the button on my sidebar. You are sure to leave hungry and inspired!

Thanks for dropping by! If you can enlighten us on our tomato plight, I’d love to hear your advice for next year. Have a good weekend and happy eating….and you thought I just made desserts :) :)