The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Talking tomatoes
Ways to improve on the classic tomato sandwich.
It is, perhaps, a fool’s errand to attempt to improve upon the most perfect of summer lunches: a tomato sandwich. If you have a ripe tomato in hand, you’re not likely to make a bad sandwich, no matter your bread or mayonnaise. It is, after all, about that tomato. Still, imagine for a minute that you’ve had a tomato sandwich for lunch every day for the past few weeks. You may be ready for something just slightly different. You may be willing to stir a little something into your mayonnaise, experiment with a different type of bread, or even fiddle a little with your tomato.
My strategy for reexamining the tomato sandwich was to approach each critical ingredient — tomato, bread and mayonnaise — differently in three separate recipes. By taking on the sandwich this way, instead of adding new elements, each recipe stays true to the simplicity of the original. Limiting ingredients means that you don’t run the risk of overcomplicating and overwhelming what should be the hero of each sandwich.
First, I made a slightly updated version of a quick, slapdash tomato sandwich eaten over the sink. Instead of negotiating your dining location to keep all of that extra tomato juice from dribbling down your arms and onto the floor, simply season the tomatoes in advance.
This step uses salt to remove excess water from the tomatoes, concentrating their flavor. It takes some forethought but is easy. Lay tomato slices out on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or stack of paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides and then just let them hang out while you put away dishes or finish a crossword puzzle.
After about 30 minutes, you’ll see a pool of water below the tomatoes and a slick of water on top of them. Pat the slices dry, and then stack these flavor-packed tomatoes between mayonnaise-slicked slices of white bread. (I prefer Duke’s mayonnaise and Sunbeam bread, but use what you’d like.) This trick works with any tomato you’ve got, but I especially like to use it with standard-issue beefsteaks, which can often stand for a boost in flavor even when perfectly ripe.
For those willing to mess around with the standard tomato sandwich formula, try stirring together semi-homemade bacon mayonnaise and pairing it with heirloom tomatoes, such as Cherokee Purples. The bacon mayonnaise requires rendering the bacon fat and chopping the resulting crisp bacon into tiny bits, but it’s worth it for a spread that hints at a BLT without overwhelming the tomatoes.
I like to serve it on soft sourdough sandwich bread, such as the slices from Pepperidge Farm, instead of classic white bread. The light tang of the bread and its more substantial structure help balance the bacon’s salty sweetness and keep the tomatoes firmly in place.
A grilled tomato and chimichurri sandwich on focaccia bread is a much further departure from the classic but equally delicious. Grilling the tomatoes is less about actually cooking them through than adding a bit of complexity to their flavor from the char marks. This process will also soften and sweeten their flesh a bit, allowing them to meld with the thick bread, which means this sandwich is also a great opportunity to use not-quite-ripe tomatoes or improve less than perfect grocery store specimens.
I particularly like to pair these slightly smoky tomatoes with tangy, herbaceous chimichurri mayonnaise. Like bacon mayonnaise, it does require slightly more time than simply opening a mayonnaise jar, but it is not difficult: Simply blitz herbs and shallots together in a food processor, then add mayonnaise, along with a bit of olive oil and vinegar, and pulse a few more times. The mixture will look a bit thin initially but will firm up in the fridge. (You can, of course, use the nonchilled, slightly thin mayonnaise immediately if you’d like.)
As for the focaccia? It is soft and absorbent, just like classic white bread, but its oil-rich flavor and hearty texture give the sandwich complexity and substance.
Whichever route you choose, just remember that this time of great tomato sandwiches is always more fleeting than you’d like. Get your fill while you can.
For those willing to mess around with the standard tomato sandwich formula, try stirring together semihomemade bacon mayonnaise and pairing it with heirloom tomatoes, such as Cherokee Purples.