What's with the funny looking tomatoes?

As the heat continues this week, we should see more of our heirloom tomatoes ripening. Here's a quick rundown on what you need to know about our heirlooms. First, heirloom tomatoes are famous for both their rich, juicy, true tomato flavor and their lumpy, bumpy, easily-bruised delicateness. Think Princess and the Pea meets the Ugly Duckling on the outside, sweet ambrosia of summer on the inside. Heirlooms also tend to ripen less uniformly than our modern red slicing tomatoes. Often the bottom of the fruit is ripe and ready to eat while the top is still slightly green. If you can hit the precise window when the whole fruit is neither under- nor over-ripe (the precise window may only be a minute and 45 seconds long), you should buy a lottery ticket -- and a bib. Here are some characteristics to look for in the varieties we have ripe this week-- 
Speckled Roman (front right in the picture above) - meaty texture without the usual heirloom seediness. It was bred as a paste tomato, but it's too yummy to bury in a sauce. 
Japanese Trifele (front left) - pear-shaped and purple, with a rich, almost smokey flavor. 
Striped German (back right) - notable for their monster size--they regularly top 2 lb.--this is one of my all-time favorite varieties. As with all yellow and orange tomatoes, the Striped German has low acidity and is very juicy. When sliced, the red streaks through the middle look like a sunset. 
Paul Robeson (middle back) - Another rich, smokey tomato with gorgeous color--the taste and the color make a great counterpoint to the Striped Germans. 
The Orange Blossom variety in the back left isn't a true heirloom, but has lovely orange color and the same low acidity as the Striped German. 
Next week we should see some more ripening from the Cherokee Purples (lumpy bumpy like a Striped German and dark purple like a Paul Robeson) and the Green Zebras (another psuedo-heirloom with green and yellow stripes). 

If you're in the sauce-making mood, we have a limited supply of tomatoes that were too ugly to make the CSA cut, but are perfectly serviceable. Scarred, cracked, poked, misshapen, or bruised, they are tomatoes only a mother could love. $10 for 10 lbs--email me at rodwyer@ttor.org to reserve yours for your pickup day. 

In your share this week: tomatoes! a jumbo head of garlic, the last of the summer onions, red potatoes from our sister farmers at Moraine Farm in Beverly, the first husk cherries (aka ground cherries) of the year, 3 quarts of Pick Your Own cherry tomatoes (!!!), and a huge bouquet of PYO flowers. 


Recipe of the Week

A Caprese salad with reduce balsamic vinegar is my favorite way to showcase not only the amazing flavor of ripe, in-season tomatoes, but also their diversity of colors and shapes. Ree Drummond at The Pioneer Woman Cooks has the recipe I originally started making Caprese with. Sometimes I substitute burrata (a sort of cream filled mozzarella) for the mozzarella that Caprese is traditionally made with. The burrata variation is waaaaay messier, but the creamy softness adds so much to the dish it's worth it. 

Caprese Salad
Ree Drummond, thepioneerwoman.com
(the photos on this post are guaranteed to make your mouth water)

2 cups Balsamic Vinegar

3 whole Ripe Tomatoes, Sliced Thick

12 ounces, weight Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Thick

Fresh Basil Leaves

Olive Oil, For Drizzling

Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until balsamic has reduced to a thicker glaze. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl or cruet. Allow to cool.

When you're ready to serve, arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter. Arrange basil leaves between the slices. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice. Do the same with the balsamic reduction, making designs if you want. Store extra balsamic reduction in fridge for a later use.

End with a sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper. Serve as a lunch, with crusty bread. Or serve alongside a beef main course for dinner.