Chefs celebrate summer’s bounty of tomatoes in dishes with a difference

No. The punch line isn’t ketchup. But as it turns out, if pressed, the chefs say they can get a little tired of the bounty of the summer garden. And even for the most creative among them, it’s sometimes difficult to think up new tomato recipes

In Atlanta, it’s a bigger challenge come Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival time. In its sixth year, the annual benefit for Georgia Organics features some 30 farmers, 50 chefs and 20 mixologists, who come together to show off their tomato growing, cooking and mixing skills for a good cause.

This year, chef Joe Schafer of King + Duke is offering up smoked tomato consommé with poached oysters, bacon, cucumbers and tomatoes

“We wanted to go pretty light,” Schafer says. “There will be a lot of people at this event showcasing their stuff, so this should be something a little different, with a little higher degree of difficulty and a couple of different tomato preparations.

“But I’m always impressed by what I try. To take something basic like a tomato, and have all these different chefs try to do something different, is really interesting. It’s something I definitely pay attention to.”

Chef Matt Basford of Canoe is making avocado butter lettuce “soup” with spiced heirloom tomato sorbet and crisped smoked bacon.

“I like summer and like using tomatoes in all sorts of ways,” Basford says. “The sorbet has some heat from Tabasco sauce. The ‘soup,’ which is an avocado and butter lettuce emulsion gives it a nice smooth, cool effect, while the bacon adds a smoky crunch.”

Chef Derek Dollar of Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails put together a cornbread tomato salad that reflects the simple goodness of the crops that are grown at his restaurant’s small farm, dubbed Milton’s Acre.

“Our farm produces a lot of tomatoes,” Dollar says. “We’ll probably do about 3,000 pounds of 15-20 different organic heirloom varieties this season, so we do just about everything we can with them. But they’re so fresh and good, we like to use them raw. This cornbread tomato salad kind of has that farmhouse feel, I think.”

Bartender Mercedes O’Brien of Gunshow found inspiration for a tomato cocktail from one of her favorite summer snacks, the spicy Limonatta fruit cup at Lottafrutta Gourmet Fruit House in Atlanta.

“That fruit cup is the best because of the Tajin chile seasoning,” O’Brien says. “You can find it in Latin markets and it’s so good sprinkled on fresh fruit.

“There are three different kinds of tomato flavors in the cocktail — yellow for brightness and cherry for pop and sweetness, then there’s tomato water in the ice cube, which gives you even more flavor as it melts.”

Recipes

These Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival chef’s recipes showcase dishes and drinks from summer’s bounty.

Farmhouse Cornbread Tomato Salad

By Chef Derek Dollar, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails

Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Serves: 2-4

This simple summer tomato salad gets a savory kick from cornbread and a tangy edge from white balsamic vinegar. Toasting the cornbread cubes keeps them crispy.

2 cups cornbread, diced into 1-inch cubes

½ cup red cherry tomatoes, halved

½ cup Sungold cherry tomatoes halved

½ cup cucumber, 1-inch dice

¼ cup chopped purple basil

¼ cup sliced red onion

¼ cup corn, grilled and taken off the cob

¼ cup rendered bacon, crumbled

white balsamic vinaigrette to taste, see recipe

Preheat oven to 350. Toast the cornbread cubes until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, cucumber, purple basil, sliced red onion, and the cooled cornbread. Add the white balsamic vinaigrette, season with salt & pepper, and toss until all the ingredients are coated. Plate the salad and scatter the grilled corn and bacon over the top.

Per serving, with one cup vinaigrette: 616 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 11 grams protein, 62 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 37 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 47 milligrams cholesterol, 1,006 milligrams sodium.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes

Makes: 2 cups

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 ½ teaspoons chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped basil

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

1 ½ tablespoons dry oregano

1 cup olive oil

salt and white pepper to taste

In a blender, combine all ingredients, except the olive oil. While the blender is running, slowly add the oil and emulsify, and season with salt and white pepper.

Per 2-tablespoon serving: 112 calories (percent of calories from fat, 94), trace protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 12 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 18 milligrams sodium.

Smoked Tomato Consommé With Poached Oysters, Bacon, Cucumbers and Tomatoes

By Chef Joe Schafer, King + Duke

Hands on: 45 minutes Total time: 4 hours, includes 1 hour for smoking the tomatoes and 2 hours for steeping.

Serves: 4

Smoking tomatoes gives them a rich, concentrated quality. Oysters and bacon add more layers of flavor to this light and elegant sip of summer.

For the tomato water:

18 large red tomatoes, cored and cut in half

1 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup fresh mint

2 tablespoons salt

Smoke the tomatoes in a covered grill or smoker at 90-100 degrees for about an hour. Transfer the tomatoes to a large mixing bowl with a few pinches of salt, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.

Fill a sauce pot, slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl, half way with water. Place on medium heat and set the bowl on top of the pot, double boiler style.

Steep the tomatoes for about 2 hours to allow them to release their liquid.

Remove the bowl and strain the tomato juice through several layers of cheesecloth to remove the solids and to produce a clear tomato water.

While still warm, pour the tomato water over the basil and mint, cover and allow to steep until room temp.

Strain out the herbs, season the water with salt and set aside.

Poached oysters

8 fresh, small or medium size oysters, Beausoleil, James River or Rappahannock are good choices

2 cups tomato water, see recipe

Shuck the oysters and place them in a small bowl.

In a medium saucepan, bring the tomato water up to a simmer and pour over the oysters, allow to steep until room temp, approximately 15 minutes. Place the oysters, in the tomato water, in the fridge to cool. You may store them in this manner until ready to serve, up to 2 days.

Garnish

4 slices of bacon, cooked crispy

2 organic/heirloom cucumbers, peeled, small dice

1 ½ pounds mixed heirloom tomatoes, some sliced, some diced, some whole if small

olive oil

¼ cup Thai basil, picked

¼ cup mint, picked

sea salt to taste

To Serve:

Strain off the poaching liquid from the oysters. Place 2 oysters in each bowl.

Spoon a mixture of the tomatoes and cucumbers in the bowl with the oysters. Place a bit of each herb in the bowl. Pour in the consommé just to cover the garnish. Season with sea salt. Rest a slice of the crisp bacon on the rim of the bowl

Per serving: 166 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 7 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 8 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 14 milligrams cholesterol, 968 milligrams sodium.

Avocado Butter Lettuce Soup With Spiced Heirloom Tomato Sorbet and Crisped Smoked Bacon

By Chef Matt Basford, Canoe

Hands on: 40 minutes Total time: 4 hours, including freezing time for the sorbet Serves: 8

This dish makes a great start to a summer party or you may add some chopped shrimp or lobster to make a delicious addition to your summer dinner.

For the avocado butter lettuce soup

1-2 cups water, as needed

2 ripe avocados peeled, pitted and diced

4 heads butter lettuce washed and torn

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon mustard powder mixed with 1 teaspoon water

2 lemons, juiced

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 pound crispy apple wood smoked bacon for garnish

In a blender, add 1 cup water, torn lettuce leaves, honey and re-hydrated mustard powder and start to blend on low, then slowly turn blender to full speed.

Once you have a constant mix, slowly add the olive oil and lemon juice. Add more water as needed

Once mixture is smooth and silky, add avocado. This will cause the mix to thicken slightly. Season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Cool immediately.

For the tomato sorbet

4 pounds heirloom tomatoes, chopped

1 ½ cups water

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

¼ cup tequila

1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pot over medium heat, combine water, sugar, tequila, vinegar until sugar dissolves. In a large bowl, pour warm sugar mixture over chopped tomatoes and let cool.

In a food processor pulse mixture 2-3 times then pass through a strainer to remove skin and tomato seeds. Or use a food mill, which is ideal.

Add 1 teaspoon hot sauce. Season with salt and cracked black pepper

Spin in an ice cream maker per manufacturer’s directions until frozen, smooth and sorbet-like.

To serve:

Ladle 4 ounces of the lettuce soup into bowls, place a scoop of sorbet into the bowl and top with crisped bacon.

Per serving: 635 calories (percent of calories from fat, 68), 21 grams protein, 47 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 64 grams fat (15 grams saturated), 98 milligrams cholesterol, 950 milligrams sodium.

Dulcamara Limonatta

By Bartender Mercedes O’Brien, Gunshow

Hands on: 5 minutes Total time: 5 minutes Makes: one cocktail

This tomato cocktail was inspired by one of O’Brien’s favorite summer snacks, the Limonatta fruit cup at Lottafrutta Gourmet Fruit House in Atlanta. It features a tomato water ice cube recipe from chef Kevin Gillespie.

¼ yellow tomato

1 cherry tomato

1 basil leaf

1 honeydew melon ball

1 slice cucumber

1 dash of Tajin chile seasoning, available in Latin markets

1/4 ounce Petite Canne sugar cane syrup

1 ½ ounces Farmer’s Botanical Small Batch Organic Gin

½ ounce Dolin Genepy liqueur

1/2 lemon

ice for shaking

large ice cube for serving

Muddle tomatoes, basil, melon, cucumber, Tajin and sugar cane syrup together in a cocktail shaker. Add gin, liqueur and lemon. Add ice and shake until well chilled. Double strain into heavy bottomed rocks glass. Add tomato water ice cube (see recipe) or plain ice cube and top with additional Tajin seasoning.

Tomato Water Ice Cubes

Makes 12 ice cubes

Hands on time: 15 minutes Total time: 24 hours including time for marinating and freezing

Makes: 12 ice cubes

Kevin Gillespie’s Tomato Water

4 large yellow tomatoes

1 cup basil leaves

1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon salt

In a medium mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and hand crush as finely as possible. Let sit for 1 hour. Pour contents into cheese cloth lined colander over a measuring cup. Cover everything and place in refrigerator overnight. Take the drained liquid and put into 1.5 inch ice cube molds and freeze for 8 hours.

Per cocktail: 173 calories (percent of calories from fat, 6), 1 gram protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 8 milligrams sodium.