Chef David Lee says local heirloom tomatoes are at their best when eaten raw. (photo by Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail)

The Globe and Mail
September 3, 2008

David Lee: Grilled goat cheese panini with tomato consommé

Use any heritage tomato you like to make bright, colourful tomato consommé, then pair it with a savoury goat cheese panini

by DAVID LEE

For a chef, summer is a season of opportunity. After the drudgery of winter and the early hints of agricultural providence that peek through the spring frost, I cannot help but look forward to summer's bounty. However, I often wait with the greatest anticipation for the colourful heirloom tomato.

Born out of seeds passed down through families for generations, heirloom or heritage breed tomatoes taste the way a tomato should taste. From deep purple to nearly white in colour, the antioxidant-laden heirloom towers over generic supermarket varieties in terms of flavour, texture and smell. But underneath the fruit's taut, colourful outer skin lies its true pleasure, a perfectly balanced union of sweet, sour and savoury.

Local heirloom tomatoes, unlike the inferior mass-harvested varieties, are only available near the end of the summer - once their sugars have peaked and their tissues softened. And they are best eaten raw.

One of best sources I've encountered for heirloom breeds is Vicki Emlaw of Vicki's Veggies in Prince Edward County.

Several years ago, while I was in the kitchen at Splendido, one of my servers brought in a cardboard flat filled with a stunning array of her beautifully sun-ripened tomatoes.

Vicki's traditional approach to agricultural production, which includes natural ripening, seed saving and a refusal to use industrial pesticides, imbues each fruit with exceptional flavour and its own story.

Without the diligence, care and knowledge of Ontario's farming families, many of these breeds would have been destroyed as agricultural methods changed.

Literally passed between relatives as family "heirlooms," each of these tomatoes represents a personal history of family and community.

(Elaina Asselin at Wicklow Way Farms is another producer of excellent heirloom tomatoes and now supplies Splendido and Nota Bene. Her farm received its organic certification this summer.)

The long hours I've spent at Nota Bene since we opened have thankfully been punctuated by weekly visits from my daughter, Devon. While shopping on Queen Street, she often drops by for lunch, always ordering her favourite dish: the heirloom tomato salad with burrata cheese. Somehow in this way, too, the heirloom tomato means family to me.

Ontario's rich agricultural resources and dedicated community of artisanal growers help us as chefs to promote a healthy summer lifestyle. Because of the wet, cold weather this summer, however, many tomatoes failed to make it off the vine. Be sure to enjoy these precious jewels before they run out.

Here's an easy, tasty recipe that matches the savoury creaminess of Fifth Town Artisan Cheese's goat cheese with a bright, colourful and quick tomato consommé. You may use any heirloom you like, whether Russian Prince George, large Brandywines or small cherries, but please remember not to store them in the fridge.

GRILLED FIFTH TOWN GOAT CHEESE PANINI WITH THREE-MINUTE HEIRLOOM TOMATO CONSOMMÉ

What you need

Cheesecloth Butcher's twine Panini press (optional)

For consommé:

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon A couple pinches of fleur de sel 6 large heirloom tomatoes A splash of extra-virgin olive oil

For panini:

4 slices of Fifth Town's goat cheese 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 panini bread

What you do

Starting the night before, put four of the large heirloom tomatoes together with the salt in a blender. Blend on high for 25 to 50 seconds. Stir in tarragon. Place tomato mixture in the middle of several layers of cheesecloth, pulling the corners together to create a sac. Bunch the top together and tie with twine. Hang the cheesecloth over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. Reserve the leftover water.

For the panini, slice the bread in half lengthwise. Spread the butter evenly on both halves. Add sliced cheese and heat in panini press or oven preset to 400 F until crisp. (If using the oven, place a weight on the bread.)

Meanwhile, slice the two remaining tomatoes into 1.5-centimetre rounds and lightly season with salt. Discard the tomato sac and remove the residual water from the fridge. Check the seasoning and adjust salt if necessary. Place two or three tomato slices at the base of a bowl, slightly overlapping, and pour the chilled tomato water over the top.

Dribble oil on top of the remaining tomato slices and serve alongside the panini.

Consommé recipe makes 4 to 6 servings.

David Lee is co-owner and executive chef of Splendido and Nota Bene in Toronto.

Beppi's wine matches

When tomatoes - especially raw ones - play a starring role, choose a simple, crisp wine. In this case, a racy herbal white such as sauvignon blanc would be best. Other options include dry Italian whites (soave or pinot grigio, for example) or dry French, Spanish or Canadian rosé.

Beppi Crosariol