One Tomato makes Two Lunches!

Yesterday …

Uber Tomato Sandwich filled with Boursin Mayonnaise

Nubbly Toast

Secret Red

Today ...

Fried Red Tomatoes with Flowers of Scotland

More Secret Red

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This was no ordinary tomato, this was a Tesco’s Finest tomato.

I've been Googling to try and find out what kind of tomato this is.  My brain is telling me Marmande but it’s been known to be wrong before and I wanted to check.  All I can find out is that it is “an Heirloom tomato”, I’d like to know more - any ideas?

For yesterday’s lunch I made myself a tomato sandwich of sorts, filling it with Boursin softened with mayonnaise which I can tell you tastes very good indeed. I ate some nubbly toast with it, quaffed some wine and wondered about the rest of the tomato as I’d only used 2 slices.

By today I had come up with a plan ...

 Fried Red Tomatoes (based very closely on Fried Green Tomatoes)  but I couldn’t be bothered with flouring and egging so as I was making my Real Man a boiled ham and pease pudding sarnie (in truth about half a baguette) I dunked the tomato slices in the ham broth to help the panko crumbs stick and it worked a treat.

What’s the blue stuff?

I imagine it is borage.  I have had a jar of something in the corner of the cupboard for about a year and occasionally I spot it and think “hmm”.  This happened this morning so I decided to get it out and investigate – it is some kind of seasoning containing Scottish flowers so I had myself a sprinkle.  Slightly spicy, slightly salty, very pretty!  

If  you think that'must have been a big tomato - just look at this one I met in France!!

Sugared Walnuts & a Fully Loaded Tomato Sandwich!

~ Menu ~ 

Fully Loaded Tomato Sandwich 

Glass of Merlot 

A spoonful of Ice Cream and a few leftover Sugared Walnuts 

Coffee

A lovely sunny day today and no-one about, which makes it even better. We spend half of our life on a campsite in Cornwall and the high season can be very crowded and wearing. Spring and autumn, on the other hand, are delicious; just us, the crows in the trees and peacefulness.

After breakfast I went for a walk along the cliffs – some of the loveliest in Cornwall – picked a few blackberries and came back with purple lips but still starving. My fridge was pathetic today and didn’t come up with any inspiring leftovers so I decided to fall back on a great favourite on mine – Tomato Sandwich – but not just any old tomato sandwich, one ultra augmented with all sorts of goodies. Before I put the lid on it looked like this …

I used wholemeal bread spread with a little mayonnaise (Hellman’s Light which takes as good as non-light mayo to me) and then a spoonful or two of chilli-spiked pasta sauce. Over this I dolloped a little Garlic and Herb Boursin and then topped all this tasty creaminess with sweet cherry tomatoes, a few salad leaves and crunchy red onion. After taking this picture I put on the second slice and devoured the lot washed down with some red wine, of course. It was so delicious that writing this I feel like eating it all over again.

For dessert I just had a an abstemious amount of homemade coffee ice cream (for which, of course, I used my excellent no-churn ice cream recipe) sprinkled with a few candied walnuts, recipe below.

Sugared Walnuts

200g sugar 

100ml water 

½ teaspoon ground black pepper - optional 

2 pinches salt 

250g walnut halves

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F, 180˚C, gas mark 4 and set a lightly greased baking tray beside the stove.
• Heat together the sugar and water over low heat, stirring till the sugar has dissolved.
• Turn up the heat and boil to a light syrup - this only takes a few minutes, a little of the syrup dabbed on a plate should form a thread when you lift the spoon.
• Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
• Spread onto the baking tray and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes till crisp - keeping an eye and a nose out in case they start to overcook.
• Cool, breaking up any clumps and use whole or chopped in or on ice cream, in salads or just in your mouth.

NOTE: You will have noticed the optional black pepper in the recipe - this makes sugar spiced walnuts which are perfect in this lovely blue cheese salad.  These lovely sugar glazed walnuts are a boon in so many dishes!