A Slice of Summer

Slice it – and give it away for free – and they will come.

The Winston-Salem Journal Slice of Summer tomato tasting set a record Friday night, not only for tomato varieties, but also for attendance.

Local growers contributed 98 varieties, about 30 more than we've had since our first tasting in 2000.

Before the 7 p.m. starting time, people lined up at Sixth and Trade streets ready to taste. By the end of the first hour, we had handed out 250 ballots to help people choose their favorite variety.

Previous tastings have been held Saturday mornings; this is the first year we have held it on a Friday night. Along with a new time, we gave it a new name, A Slice of Summer, and a new location, moving from the fairgrounds farmers market to downtown at Sixth and Trade streets. With support from the Downtown Arts District Association, we were able to schedule the tasting during the monthly Gallery Hop.

"This is great that you moved it downtown. This is just a great location," said Margie Imus of Westfield, who attended the tasting.

Though we went through hundreds of ballots, only 135 were returned. Still, that's a high number for us. Though the same few varieties have tended to dominate over the years, this year yielded different results, perhaps because of the larger number of varieties.

We had tomatoes in green, yellow, orange, brown/black/purple and quintessential red. We had tomatoes ranging from the size of a pea to the size of a softball. We had tomatoes rounded, elongated, pointy and gnarled.

And we had tomatoes with such names as Aunt Gertie's Gold, Heart of Compassion, Arkansas Traveler, Mortgage Lifter, Bloody Butcher, Kellogg's Breakfast, Lollipop and Garden Peach.

Even without eating a bite, the tasting was a sight to see because of the beautiful colors, sizes and shapes.

But people did come to taste, and I witnessed many a knitted brow as people seriously went about the task of picking a favorite.

In our admittedly unscientific poll, we ended up with a tie between Black Cherry, a large cherry tomato with the black/brown/purple coloration, and Mexico Midget, a red cherry tomato ranging in size from a pea to a small marble.

Harmony Ridge Farms in Tobaccoville grew the Black Cherry tomatoes; Billy Place Farm in East Bend grew the Mexico Midgets.

"Hard to eat just one," said Joseph Urgan in voting for Black Cherry. Dave Wanucha praised Black Cherry's "initial sweetness balanced by a mildly acidic finish." Many people commented on the complexity of flavor in the Mexico Midget – a bit sweet, a bit earthy, with layers of flavor that kept them coming back for more.

The large Cherokee Purple, a popular, juicy tomato for sandwiches, came in third; it was grown by Sanders Ridge Farm in Boonville. Fourth in the results was Matt's Wild Cherry – which is similar to the Mexico Midget; that variety was contributed by two growers, Cheryl Ferguson of Plum Granny Farm in King and Tracy Lounsbury, who grows tomatoes in Old Salem.

Other top vote-getters included Spoon, (full-size) Mexico and Paul Robeson.

In addition to tasting a boatload of fresh tomatoes, attendees enjoyed free samples of tomato dishes from eight local restaurants and were able to buy many of the varieties from participating farmers.

Sweet Potatoes restaurant made a tomato and cucumber salad and a tomato pie. The pie's coup de grace is a layer of pimento cheese melted over the top.

Mooney's Mediterranean Café made a different kind of pie with tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese and phyllo pastry – like spanakopita with tomatoes. When that ran out, Mooney's subbed some of its signature tabbouleh.

Noble's Grille made a wonderful ceviche in which the watermelon mixed with tomatoes to add a wonderful sweetness to coat the pieces of white fish.

Milner's American Southern put a scoop of eye-catching Sun Gold Tomato Sorbet over shrimp, field peas and a corn relish. The eye wanted to believe that the sorbet would be sweet, but the taste buds said otherwise: It was savory with the flavors of garlic, shallots, rosemary and olive oil.

Sixth & Vine served a bruschetta in which tangy goat cheese contrasted with sweet green-tomato jam.

Willow's Bistro took a Southwestern approach with a tomato bread pudding with chipotle peppers and corn.

Finnigan's Wake offered a version of Caprese salad on a toothpick: cherry tomatoes stuffed with fresh mozzarella, basil and a reduction of balsamic vinegar.

And Breakfast, Of Course! Mary's Too dished up what looked like a raspberry smoothie but was Gazpacho Rosa, a cold soup made with beets, tomatoes, buttermilk, yogurt and dill – sort of a hybrid gazpacho mixed with borscht.

Several restaurants supplied recipes, which are included below.

Thanks to all of the restaurants and growers, and especially to all of the people who came to taste.

Thanks also to Whole Foods Market, which contributed paper goods, and Margaret Norfleet Neff of Beta Verde, who provided a ton of organizational help. And we couldn't have done this without the support of the Downtown Arts District Association, which gave us space at its Gallery Hop.

David Bare, our gardening columnist, and I agreed that the new location and format has set the stage for building an even bigger and better tomato tasting.

"Next year, you'll have 150 varieties," predicted Tracy Lounsbury, after attending the tasting.

I'm not so sure of that, but we look forward to the challenge.

As Bare's wife, Suzanne Williams, said after the tasting, "There's no turning back now."

Thanks to local tomato growers

The Winton-Salem Journal’s Slice of Summer tomato tasting is dependent on the generosity of many local growers, both amateur and professional.

Here are growers who made this year’s tasting possible:

Ann and Bill Smith of Old Town Farm in Walnut Cove.

Paige and Leonard Reeder of Le Pa Faith Farm in Clemmons.

Sanders Ridge Farm in Boonville.

Jeff Tucker of Sugar Creek Farm in Davie County.

Isaac Oliver of Harmony Ridge Farm in Tobaccoville.

Gary Owen’s farm in Pfafftown.

Cheryl Ferguson of Plum Granny Farm in King.

Cynthia Glascoe of Billy Place Farm in East Bend.

David Wanucha of Mocksville.

Beverly and Joe Delia.

Tracy Lounsbury.

Bruce Bradford.

Timothy Vincent.

Wallace Williamson of Rural Hall.

Professor Gloria Muday and the student organic gardeners at Wake Forest University.

Journal gardening columnist David Bare recommended the following sources for tomato seeds:

www.seedsavers.org

www.tomatobob.com

www.totallytomato.com

www.johnnyseeds.com

www.rareseeds.com.

Sun Gold Tomato Sorbet

Makes 1 quart.

Blue agave nectar is a natural sweetener available at natural food stores such as Whole Foods market.

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns

2 pounds sun gold tomatoes, washed

3 tablespoons dry white wine

2 tablespoons blue agave nectar (light)

½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1½ teaspoons sea salt

1. In a sauce pot over medium heat, toast the coriander seeds until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the oil, shallot, garlic and pepper. Cook on low heat until shallot is tender, about 5 minutes.

2. In a blender or food processor, puree the washed tomatoes until smooth. Add tomato puree, wine, blue agave nectar, rosemary and salt to shallot mixture in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Strain tomato mixture through a mesh strainer, such as a sieve, using a rubber spatula to press the solids and extract as much flavor as possible. Cool completely, then chill.

4. Freeze the mixture in an ice-cream maker following manufacturer’s instructions. Serve as desired, including with raw oysters or grilled fish.

John Milner of Milner’s American Southern.

Mozzarella Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

½ cup balsamic vinegar

2 pints cherry tomatoes (the largest available)

1 8-ounce mozzarella ball, patted dry

4 basil leaves, chopped gently

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small saucepan, simmer balsamic over medium heat until syrupy, and reduced to just a few tablespoons.

2. Cut just enough of the bottoms of the tomatoes off so they stand up. Cut off the tops and hollow out tomatoes.

3. In a bowl, cut up mozzarella into cubes small enough to fit 3 to 5 in each tomato. Add most of the chopped basil, reserving a bit for garnish. Stir in the balsamic reduction and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

4. Spoon some of the mixture into each tomato and garnish with reserved chopped basil. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Philip Kirby of Finnigan’s Wake.

Tomato Watermelon Ceviche

1 pound white fish

4 heirloom tomatoes

2 cups watermelon, seeds removed

1 red onion

¼ cup shallot

2 red bell peppers

8 fresh limes

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut white fish in bite-size pieces and place in a mixing bowl.

2. Finely dice all vegetables and the watermelon. Add to the bowl, and season with salt and pepper.

3. Squeeze fresh lime juice into bowl, toss well and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Phil Barnes of Noble’s Grille.

Gazpacho Rosa

Mary Haglund of Breakfast, Of Course! Mary’s Too said that this recipe reminds her of gazpacho and borscht combined.

1 20-ounce can whole beets with the liquid (or 2 cups cooked fresh beets, plus 1 cup cooking liquid)

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup vegetable stock

½ cup cran-grape juice

1½ tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Salt to taste

1 large, red ripe tomato, unpeeled, cut into small dice

¼ small red onion, finely chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons fresh dill, plus sprigs for garnish

1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1. In a food processor, combine all the beet juice and half the beets with the buttermilk, stock, cran-grape juice, vinegar, sugar, cayenne and salt. Puree until smooth. Transfer to bowl.

2. Dice the remaining beets, and stir them into the soup mixture.

3. Stir in the remaining veggies and the dill. Chill well for at least 4 hours.

4. Garnish with yogurt or sour cream and a sprig of dill.

Mary Haglund, adapted from “The Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread” by Crescent Dragonwagon (Workman, 1992).

Tomato and Crumbled Goat Cheese

Bruschetta with Candied Red Onions

and a Green Tomato Jam

Note: To reduce the balsamic vinegar, gently simmer in a small saucepan until reduced to 1 cup.

3 green tomatoes

1 cup sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Pinch salt

Pinch pepper

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups cider vinegar

1 baguette, thinly sliced

4 diced roma tomatoes (stems trimmed, inside flesh discarded)

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

10 leaves chopped basil

2 cups balsamic vinegar, reduced by half

1. To make tomato jam, blanch tomatoes in boiling water. Let cool, then peel. Simmer peeled tomatoes 30 to 45 minutes with sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Then puree.

2. To make candied onions, simmer thinly sliced red onions in brown sugar and apple cider vinegar until they are translucent.

3. Meanwhile, toast baguettes slices on baking sheet at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes until crispy.

4. To assemble bruschetta, spread tomato jam on toasted baguette slices. Top with candied onions. Add diced roma tomatoes and crumbled goat cheese. Finish with chopped fresh basil and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.

--Sixth and Vine.

mhastings@wsjournal.com

727-7394