You say tomato, I say delicious!

One of my favorite parts of summer is the abundance of fresh, sweet tomatoes.

To my suprise, I have discovered that my neighborhood fish market, Black Salt, is my source for the sweetest locally grown tomatoes I have ever tasted.  Two weeks ago, along with the fish I purchased, I picked up a couple red tomatoes to go along with dinner and I couldn't believe it when I took a bite of the tomatoes!  Sweet beyond belief.  Almost like eating candy!

Tonight I remembered what a chef at one of my cooking classes taught me.  She used to say that the best dishes are not those with the most ingredients but rather a dish concocted with the freshest, best ingredients you can find.  For example, her theory was that a dessert made with the best eggs and a quality vanilla bean would be better than an overly complicated dessert made with processed ingredients any day.

This brings me to the side dish I prepared for dinner tonight.

I stopped at Black Salt to pick up scallops for dinner and told the chef of the restaurant (who happened to be in the market) about the amazing tomatoes I had purchased two weeks ago.  He suggested I try orange sunburst tomatoes he had in the market.  The tomatoes were the size of a cherry tomato but sweeter than any tomato I have ever tasted.  The chef said the tomatoes were particularly sweet given the hot weather this area experienced in August.

Once at home, I cut the tomatoes in half and cubed some fresh mozzarella cheese.  After depositing the tomatoes and cheese in a bowl, I added a pinch of sea salt and a few dashes of good balsamic vinegar.  

The result was delicious and frankly, almost like eating dessert for dinner.  What could be better?

And, since it is the middle of the week and my husband and I work full-time, being able to prepare a tasty and healthy dish in under five minutes makes this dish even better.

So remember as the final days of summer are upon us, take advantage of the farmer's market in your area to buy fresh, quality ingredients and keep it simple for a guaranteed delicious dish!

Sunburst Tomato Salad

Ingredients

1 small container orange sunburst tomatoes

1/3 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt

Details

*Cut tomatoes in half and deposit in a bowl along with the diced mozzarella cheese.

*Toss tomatoes and cheese.

*Add a pinch of sea salt and 2-3 dashes of balsamic vinegar.  Toss and serve.