Tomatoes of every kind are being harvested right now in the Miss-Lou. Many of us here are growing varieties that had almost disappeared from the culinary scene. You can find not only your lovely deep red tomatoes but pink, yellow, purple, and striped. With fanciful names such as Brandywine, First Lady, Green Zebra or even Purple Slice these heirloom varieties are making comeback with smaller growers.

These varieties are rarely seen on a national scale because they don’t ship as well as the tomatoes that have developed for shipping and uniformity in size. But there taste will remind you of your childhood when a tomato tasted like, well, a tomato. With the national news talking about the salmonella scare on imported tomatoes there is no better time to be shopping your local growers and markets.

There is never going to be a better recipe for serving tomatoes than simply slicing them thinly, layering them on a plate with some fresh mozzarella cheese, lightly sprinkle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle on some kosher salt and a grind of fresh pepper. Of course my favorite is always going to be a tomato sandwich, it is the one sandwich that must have soft white bread, requires mayonnaise and a ripe tomato and a napkin.

This first recipe comes from my friend Wanda Smith. She and her husband own Bug Busters in Vidalia and lucky for me they start their tomatoes early each year in a greenhouse, so I get to enjoy tomatoes before my plants finally pick up speed. Wanda originally obtained this recipe from Southern Living and made some changes to make it her own she serves it as an appetizer but I think it would make a lovely light lunch served with a salad.

Rustic basil tomato tart

1 round of a 15 ounce refrigerated pie crust

4 tomatoes, sliced. Roma is a good choice for this because they are smaller in diameter and meaty

2 teaspoons pesto

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (try the Italian blend)

Olive oil

Fresh Basil

Lay your pie crust on a baking sheet and fold the edges up and crimp them. Cover the the bottom of the crust with 1 cup of cheese. Place tomato slices in a ring to cover the cheese, overlapping slightly. Combine mayo, pesto and remaing cheese. Spoon this mixture over the tomato slices. Top with chopped fresh basil and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until crust is brown.

Another recipe I managed to get out of her was her tomato and eggplant stack. This is just delicious and makes wonderful use of a larger tomato. Wanda doesn’t peel her eggplant and sometimes she uses the small green variety.

Tomato eggplant stack

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 slices

3 large tomatoes, cut into 4 slices each

4 slices of eggplant, use a smaller eggplant instead of one of the very large ones as they can be bitter

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh basil leaves, shredded

Lay out your tomato slices and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. On four salad plates lay a tomato slice and top with an eggplant slice, a cheese slice and a few shreds of basil. Then repeat with a tomato slice, a cheese slice and some basil. Your stacks will only have one slice of eggplant in them. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Gazpacho is a fresh tomato and pepper soup served chilled. Many people don’t like their tomatoes in soup but I can’t find a wrong way to serve a fresh tomato. This recipe is from The Daily Soup in New York. This restaurant serves soup of every kind and it’s all they serve. Their gazpacho is a summer favorite and it’s one of the few recipes I have collected over the years and left basically unchanged.

Gazpacho

2 red bell peppers

2 green bell peppers

2 yellow bell peppers

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, stems removed and halved

4 cups of tomato juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 garlic cloves

1 pickled jalapeno

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon hot sauce

2 cucumbers, halved, seeded and cut into small 1/4 inch cubes

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Place the tomatoes, 2 cups of the juice, oil, both vinegars, garlic, jalapeno, salt and hot sauce in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining tomato juice. Halve all of the peppers, remove the seeds and white portion, and then cut into a very small dice. Stir in the diced peppers, cucumber and cilantro. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Serve with a sprinkle of the green onions on top.

Every once in awhile you get more tomatoes at one time than you can eat. When this happens I make a quick tomato sauce to go in the freezer to use in spaghetti, chili or other soups in the winter. First I wash all of my tomatoes and take off the stems. Then I bring a large pot of water to a boil. I place the tomatoes in the boiling water and watch them carefully. In a very short amount of time you will see the skin begin to split, simply scoop them up with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl or casserole dish. I let them sit until they have cooled a little to the touch. You will be able to simply pull the peel off of each one. Do this over the bowl so you don’t lose any juice. Then I core the tomatoes and cut them up, again over the bowl so you don’t lose any juice. Place a medium saucepan on the stovetop on medium heat. Add all of your tomatoes and the juice. I sprinkle in some kosher sauce, some black pepper, a pinch of sugar, and a handful of basil leaves. Then I let this mixture cook for awhile, until the tomatoes become soft and fall apart, a process I usually help along by mashing the tomatoes with a potato masher. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool. If you don’t mind seeds you can then process the mixture in a blender or food processor. I don’t like seeds in my sauce so I run my mixture through my food mill removing all solid particles. Then when the sauce is completely cooled you simply pour it into pint or quart freezer bags and store in your freezer.