It belongs in a frame on a museum wall, don't you think?

I could wax poetic all day about the heirloom tomato, but instead I will give you a “hardly recipe” for a salad I made up the other night. It began as an inspiration from the sweet and mild sungold variety. I wanted to set off the sweetness with something smoky, and luck would have it that I purchased some smoked mozzarella string cheese from a local cheesemaker. I sliced up the cheese into coins and tossed them into a bowl full of halved sungolds. The smokiness I craved was still not intense enough, so I sprinkled on some hickory salt from The Spice House. When I took a bite my tastebuds hummed with pleasure, and the whole thing took me about 10 minutes to throw together.

The next time I made the salad, I used four kinds of heirloom cherry tomato instead of just sungolds. The results were equally pleasing to the palate, but even more so to the eye. It’s so darn pretty I hardly want to eat it…okay, not really, but it is a colorful dish. If you can’t find smoked mozzarella or hickory salt just use plain. It’s worth the effort to seek out a smoked cheese at least. You don’t need to get string cheese either. Shaved slices of mozzarella would work as well. I just like how the coin slices look in the final dish. In a few weeks time I will find myself staring longingly at these photos, you can count on that.

Smoky and Sweet Tomato Salad

Serves 6
Prep time: 10 minutes

2 lbs heirloom cherry tomatoes
4-5 ounces smoked mozzarella string cheese, or block cheese
1/2 teaspoon hickory salt or other smoked salt
6 cups of any kind of lettuce

1. Rinse the tomatoes and remove any stems. Cut each one in half and place in a large bowl.
2. Slice the string cheese into thin coins. If you are not using string cheese, slice the block cheese into thin slivers. Add to the tomatoes.
3. Sprinkle the tomato mixture with hickory salt and toss to combine.
4. Place a cup of lettuce on a plate and top with the tomato salad. Serve at room temperature for the best flavor.

I got a little behind in my posting. As you can see, this recipe is for late summer veggies, but it’s pretty much still summer in Houston so I figured I squeeze this one in. You can substitute the veggies in this recipe for what’s in season in your ‘hood. The standout here is the homemade pizza crust. If you have never done this before, don’t be scared. It’s really easy. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to rise for ~2 hours. This crust recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen. Go visit Smitten Kitchen! It’s food pr0n!

Homemade Late Summer Pizza

Makes one thin crust pizza that will serve 2 hungry adults
Total time 2-2.5 hours
Cost per pizza about $8

For the dough:
3/4 cups white flour
3/4 cups wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the toppings:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2-3 Heirloom tomatoes, different varieties
1 small zucchini squash
1 ounce fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded smoked mozzarella
Italian seasoning

1. Mix the flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and olive oil, stirring mixture into a ball. You will probably not be able to make it into a homogenous ball, but there’s an easy fix for that. Smitten Kitchen says to dump everything onto a floured surface and let it sit, covered by the empty bowl, for a few minutes. When you come back to it you should be able to incorporate every bit into a ball.
2. Knead the dough a few times: fold it in half, press it with the palms of your hands, turn it a quarter turn, repeat. Lightly oil the bowl and roll the dough ball around the bowl to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1-2 hours, until it has doubled in size.
3. Dump the dough back onto the floured surface and press the air out of it. Make it into a ball again and let it rest covered for another 20 minutes.
   
4. Preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Halve the tomatoes, then slice as thinly as you can. Slice the zucchini thinly. You can use a mandoline like I do to get super thin slices quickly.

5. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out onto the floured surface. I shoot for about a 12 inch round, but I can never get it perfectly rounded. My crusts have a more “organic” shape. Brush the top of the dough with the olive oil, then arrange the sliced veggies on top. Drop little dollops of goat cheese around the pizza, then top with the smoked mozzarella. Sprinkle on some Italian seasoning.
6. Sprinkle a little cornmeal on a baking sheet and slide the pizza on. Bake in the super hot over for about 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is browned and the crust is blistery.

I double this recipe and make two pies because this combo is heavenly and it goes fast. The smoked mozzarella gives it a meatiness, and the tomatoes and zucchini keep it light. This can be easily adapted to any season. Just use whatever is cheap and prominently displayed in the produce section. That’s usually how I remember what’s in season.