At the Portland Saturday Market yesterday, I couldn’t resist selecting a bag of what may be the last of the season’s heirloom tomatoes. They come in such a variety of beautiful colors, shapes and sizes, and their flavor is incomparable. Nothing like the grocery store tomatoes we grudgingly subsist on over the long winter.

Over the past year, restaurant menus everywhere featured heirloom tomato salads, and I sampled my fair share.  

The most creative and gorgeous rendition was surely this beauty, which we were enthralled with at Clio restaurant in Boston. Every dish at Clio is a work of art with stunning juxtapositions of flavors. In this salad, the striking complement was the tiny local blueberry compote.

In this next rendition, from a recent visit to Elements restaurant in Scottsdale, the tomatoes and accompanying buffalo mozzarella were accentuated with balsamic chili glaze, basil and queen creek olive oil. A simple and lovely dish.

Then at Jsix restaurant in San Diego, there was a refreshing salad of heirloom tomatoes with creamy burrata mozzarella, butter lettuce, and green goddess dressing. I haven’t seen green goddess dressing on a menu for eons, so just had to order it.

Almost every heirloom tomato salad I encounter out these days matches the tomatoes with mozzarella. While that’s an effective pairing, I wanted to try something a little bolder, without, however, overpowering the flavor of the tomatoes. I chose a deliriously delicious creamy blue that I picked up on a whim at Trader Joe’s, and then tamed it quite a bit by combining it with cream cheese. For a counterpoint, I whipped up a honey mustard vinaigrette and included the barest sprinkling of salty, crunchy pancetta and fresh thyme.

You can use any baby greens here, such as arugula or watercress, but the tender, subtle mâche (lambs lettuce) is particularly lovely.

Heirloom Tomato, Walla Walla Sweet Onion & Mâche Salad with Blue Cheese Crema

Tomatoes have a natural affinity for blue cheese. However, when tomatoes are to be the star of the dish, it may be necessary to play down the blue a bit. In this salad, the blue is tamed with cream cheese, which also adds a lush texture to the salad. The tiny bursts of salty pancetta, sweet onion, and fresh thyme enliven each bite.

Blue Cheese Crema
8 ounces cream cheese
3 ounces Italian Stagnola Blue cheese (available at Trader Joe’s) (or other creamy blue cheese)
1 large clove garlic, peeled, and then minced or pressed
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons wildflower honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 large clove garlic, peeled, and then minced or pressed
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Salad
4 large heirloom tomatoes, preferably in different colors, sliced ½-inch thick
¼ medium Walla Walla sweet or red onion, chopped
4-ounce package mâche (lambs lettuce), stems trimmed
4 ounces pancetta, chopped, sautéed, and drained on paper towels
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1. To make Blue Cheese Crèma, in a processor, process the cream cheese until smooth. Add blue cheese, garlic, and salt. Process until incorporated. Scoop into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
2. To make Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, and garlic. Whisk in the olive oil to form an emulsion, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. To serve, smear a couple tablespoons of Blue Cheese Crèma in the center of each of four large salad plates. Grate black pepper over the crèma. For each serving, arrange ¼ of the tomatoes, overlapping, to one side of the crèma. Put the mâche in a bowl and drizzle over a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss to coat and then arrange the mâche on the other side of the crèma. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over the tomatoes. Sprinkle each salad with cooked pancetta, chopped onion, and minced thyme.
4. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Inspired Heirloom Tomato Recipes from Around the Web

Satisfied: Black Pepper Cornmeal Tarts with Heirloom Tomato Salad and Sea Salt
Tartelette: Heirloom Tomato and Olive Tapenade Tartelette
Julia’s Kitchen: Heirloom Tomato Salad
Patent and the Pantry: Roasted Tomato Tart

Please leave a comment. We LOVE hearing from you!

To print this recipe, click the Print this Post icon below.

As often happens in the OtherWorldly Kitchen, I see a picture of an interesting dish in a culinary magazine and then can’t locate it when I actually want to try the dish. I can’t bear to discard a great magazine, so there are stacks everywhere. That’s how this quick and easy midweek supper dish came to be: a vague memory of a picture in a magazine, several heirloom tomatoes on the counter begging to be used, and raging hunger.

I was intrigued by the idea of intensifying the flavor of the tomatoes by roasting them with herbs and aromatics and then simply laying them on top of cooked pasta. I confess that I did not expect the resulting dish to taste this divine. I merely wanted to throw together a quick meal after a demanding day at work. Isn’t it great when results EXCEED expectations?

Seattle’s University District Farmers Market was overflowing with heirloom tomatoes last Saturday, but the weather around Puget Sound has now suddenly turned cold. That means those tomatoes will soon be gone for another long year. Now is the time to indulge in the last of summer’s fruits and vegetables. I can’t think of a better way to do that than with this simple and very delicious pasta.

 Linguine with Balsamic Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes

A lovely pasta dish topped with roasted sliced tomatoes and aromatics. Very simple and surprisingly delicious. I predict that you will want to make this dish again and again.

vegetable oil spray

Tomatoes
4 medium, ripe, heirloom or vine ripened tomatoes
10 pitted Calamata olives, pitted, quartered lengthwise
2 tablespoons capers
2 cloves garlic, peeled, and minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar

Sauce
6 tablespoons cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled, and minced or pressed
1½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup dry white wine
fine sea salt
freshly grated black pepper

1 pound dried linguine
½ cup chopped parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano

Garnish
small handful tiny fresh oregano leaves or 2 tablespoons slivered larger leaves
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1. Coat an edged baking sheet with vegetable spray of oil.
2. Core and ¼-inch slice the tomatoes. Arrange on the baking sheet.
3. Top the tomatoes as evenly as possible with olives, capers, garlic, dried basil, and dried oregano. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
4. Roast tomatoes at 350° for about 30 minutes, until roasted but not dried out. After roasting, remove from the oven, cover with foil, and keep warm.
5. To make the sauce, while tomatoes are roasting, in a large sauté pan, add 6 tablespoons olive oil and sauté garlic until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and wine and bring to a simmer. Reduce to 1½ cups. Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and keep warm.
6. While sauce is reducing, fill a large pasta or soup pot with cold water and add 1 tablespoon salt. Cover and bring to a rolling boil.
7. When water is boiling rapidly, add pasta. Boil until just tender, about 6-7 minutes.
8. Quickly drain and add to the sauce in the sauté pan, along with fresh parsley and oregano. Toss to coat with the sauce.
9. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl, top with the sauce remaining in the pan, and arrange the roasted tomatoes over the top. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
10. Garnish with oregano leaves and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
11. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.