Eat Drink Man Weblog

A trip to a farmer’s market brought me face to face with some beautiful tomatoes. They were huge, far bigger than my fist. They felt heavy in my hand, like good produce should. And best of all, they were fragrant – sniffing the stem end yielded a pronounced, floral aroma.

My all-time favorite tomato application is panzanella, a tomato and bread salad. Tomatoes hold a lot of flavor in their juices, and dried bread absorbs the juices that leak out, making sure the flavor reaches your tongue. It’s a perfect summertime treat that should only ever be made with the freshest of tomatoes.

But I was at the farmer’s market because I wanted to make a nice dinner for a handful of friends that evening. Panzanella requires day old bread, and I didn’t have a day to spare. I could’ve approximated stale bread by toasting fresh bread cubes under the broiler, but in 90 degree heat, I didn’t want to fire up the oven.

It was time to improvise. Throwing together a recipe on the fly can be tricky mental exercise. My assets: local produce that would offer tremendous flavor with little coaxing. My liabilities: crippling heat that discouraged oven use, and a scant couple hours before my guests would grow restless.

The limited time meant that my other all-time favorite tomato application, gazpacho, was off the table. I prefer my gazpacho ingredients diced, not pureed. It can take me a couple hours just to get things chopped to my liking. And after the chopping, a good gazpacho should rest for a few hours so its flavors can mingle. Time wasn’t on my side.

The farmer’s market had fresh cumbers and red onions on hand, as well as an abundance of fresh corn. A corn salad could showcase fresh tomato, onion and cucumber. It could handle larger chunks than a gazpacho since it would be eaten with a fork, saving chopping time. And boiling the corn would use the stovetop, but keep the oven nice and cool.

I still needed a protein to feed my guests, so I was off to the supermarket. There I was able to grab some pork and a few more ingredients to round out my salad.

A good vinaigrette makes all the difference in a salad. A few months back I made a raspberry walnut oil dressing from Jennifer Joyce’s Small Bites – the walnut oil brought a wonderful, toasty richness to her peppered pear salad. I knew it could do the same to my corn salad. The market had a fig infused vinegar that I substituted for the raspberry. I also grabbed a lime to provide a splash of citrus juice.

The dinner was a success – the corn salad provided a wonderful marriage of fresh corn, cool cumber, and fruity tomato that was complemented by the walnut oil. It was a tasty partner to grilled pork tenderloin medallions.

Farmer’s Market Corn Salad

Serves 8-10

For the Salad:

6 ears of corn

3 large tomatoes

2 medium cucumbers

One large red onion

¼ cup walnut oil

2 tablespoons fig-infused vinegar

Juice of one lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Set a pot of salted water to boil.

While the water is boiling, slice the tomatoes and cucumbers into ¾ inch cubes and throw them into a large mixing bowl. Mince the red onion and add it to the bowl. Add a pinch of salt and toss. Set the bowl aside to rest.

When the water reaches a boil, add the corn and let it boil until it can be pierced with a knife with no resistance, about five minutes. Drain the corn and add it to an ice bath to cool.

By now the tomatoes will have given up some moisture – drain away the liquid: it would otherwise water down your vinaigrette.

Turn back to the corn. It should be cool enough to handle after only a little time in the ice bath. Cut each cob of corn in half, producing two shorter cylinders. Hold the cut end of the corn against your cutting board, and shave off the kernels, always moving the knife downwards, towards the cutting board. Place the newly liberated kernels into the bowl.

Add the oil, vinegar and lime juice and toss. Once the dressing is evenly distributed over the salad, taste before adding salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature. (Cold kills the flavor of tomatoes.)

I garnished mine with a handful of baby corn because I think it’s adorable. If you share my fondness for small things that look like larger things, it is something to consider.