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Eating Out of Season

I know it's the cool thing to eat within the seasons—asparagus in the spring, strawberries in early summer and corn a little later and tomatoes when they are fresh off the vine—and if you can buy all of these things grown by local farmers, all the better. It's a nice idea, and I try to stick with it because, after all, what's worse than eating a crunchy, bitter strawberry picked way too early and shipped thousands of miles in February? And tomatoes are best in the summer. It's just a fact.

But sometimes I ignore the rules and eat what I want when I want it. This recipe inspired me to make a tomato salad the other day, using grapes tomatoes grown in a greenhouse in Mexico. I don't know when they were picked or how they were shipped to the middle of Ohio. I only know that I bought a pint and put the things in my salad, and it was all worth the trouble.

This is called Bloody Mary Tomato Salad, but there's no vodka in it. Not a drop. I used Champagne vinegar in place of the sherry, but that doesn't give it a vodka bite. Enjoy, in or out of season.

1 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, divided
2 lb. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup chopped celery hearts
1/2 cup chopped brined green olives
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Mix onion and 1 tablespoon vinegar in a large bowl. Let macerate 10 minutes, tossing often. Add tomatoes, celery and olives.

Whisk remaining vinegar, horseradish and next three ingredients in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil. Add to bowl with tomato mixture, toss to coat and season with salt and pepper.

(photo by Luc Viatour)

Comments

dive said…
Yum! How very Summery, Robyn.
Be thankful you're thousands of miles out of spanking range for your decidedly un-Green shopping!
4:07 PM
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