Save the Heirloom Tomatoes

I’ve been waiting, tapping my fingers and wringing my hands in greedy anticipation of getting to peak tomato season, and here we are. Above all else - even strawberry season - this is my favorite time of the food year.

Even though many stalls at the  are sporting fat heirloom tomatoes, tiny red cherry tomatoes and beefy hybrids, it’s well known that this year’s harvest is on the later side.

“It’s been raining out there,” said Rene Prieto who works the
market stall for Balakian Farms. “We’ve had tomatoes for about three weeks, but the season is a few weeks late this year.”

That means the best is yet to come.

What tomato season means to me is cheese. This clearly sounds strange. But my favorite combo on earth is a big ball of Burrata cheese and some perfect, height-of-the-season heirloom tomatoes, drizzled in a nice olive oil, a bit of basil and a sprinkle of sea salt. It’s ah-maz-ing.

Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese similar to a ball of the freshest mozzarella cheese but when you break it open it has a creamy, irresistible, gooey inside. Burrata means “buttered” in Italian. It’s simply sinful. I bought some from the Cowgirl Creamery at the San Francisco Ferry Building to pair with my fresh tomatoes from the Mill Valley Farmers Market – see the recipe below for Heirloom Tomatoes with Burrata and Grilled Bread. But I digress.

The popularity of heirloom tomatoes is greater than ever. When I first discovered California heirloom tomatoes, I was astonished by their remarkable flavor. I come from Seattle and was accustomed to imported (for most of the year) tomatoes that tasted like wood. But with heirloom tomatoes, each variety has a different flavor and tastes like a real tomato should.

An heirloom tomato is generally considered to be a variety that has been passed down, through several family generations for certain coveted characteristics. Because of the popularity of heirlooms lately, some liberties have been taken with the term heirloom in commercial tomato production, but at the Mill Valley Farmers Market, you should be safe.

Buying and growing heirloom tomatoes is more important than
you know. Every heirloom variety is genetically unique. Sometimes it’s obvious, like the green zebras, purple Cherokees or pink brandy wines, and even the tomato that looks like a "brain" according to Prieto, who couldn’t remember the French varietal’s name.

Sometimes the varieties aren’t so obvious. Built in to this unique genome is an evolved resistance to pests and disease and an adaptation to specific growing conditions and climates. If we were to forego heirloom varieties and buy grocery store Early Girl hybrids, we could potentially lose this genome if there were ever to be any mass tomato blight.

Basically, heirloom tomatoes and heirloom seeds protect us from this risk of genetic erosion. So enjoy those tomatoes, the wilder looking the better, and know that the best is yet to come!

Heirloom Tomatoes with Burrata and Grilled Bread

• 1 Burrata ball
• 3 large heirloom tomatos
• ¼ cup basil leaves
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 fresh loaf crusty bread, round
• 2 Tbs Olive oil

Directions:
Chop heirloom tomatoes into pieces of varying size. Arrange in a dish around Burrata ball. Make sure Burrata is served at room temperature. Chop basil leaves roughly and throw them in a blender with olive oil - blend. Drizzle basil/olive oil mixture over Burrata and tomatoes. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, sea salt and pepper.

Slice bread into pieces. Brush with olive oil. Heat grill to 350 degrees, grill bread 2-3 minutes on each side.

Serves 4.