Tomatoes: The Ultimate Summer Produce

Tomatoes are the ultimate summer produce item.

Growing up in Indiana, I can remember my favorite dinner was fresh, local sweet corn and tomatoes straight from my dad’s garden. We would chill them, slice them and eat them with a sprinkling of white sugar. Somewhere in the meal was probably a grilled burger, but that was secondary to the decadence of the tomato.

If your veggie stand, grocery store or home garden do not yet boast locally grown tomatoes, the next best thing is the crop showing up from Arkansas. I picked up several pounds at  and they are almost as good as local tomatoes soon to hit the area.

Several years ago, I was given what has turned into my favorite cookbook ever. I credit The Best Recipe by the editors of "Cook's Illustrated" magazine for turning me into a much better cook myself. However, I can never seem to leave a recipe well enough alone. Once I have mastered a recipe as written, I start tweaking: sometimes just a little, but most times, the finished product bears little resemblance to the original recipe.

This is not so with my favorite salsa recipe. The recipe is very similar to “Classic Red Table Salsa” found in "The Best Recipe", with a few additions and changes.

With the cilantro and jalapenos going crazy in my garden, it is time to make salsa. This salsa is great on its own, and marvelous on chicken tostadas. The original salsa recipe calls for dicing the ingredients and stirring together. Once, for ease, I tossed all the ingredients into a food processor. At that point, my family deemed the nearly pureed salsa to be better than our favorite Mexican restaurant’s salsa.

If you do not have a food processor, the blender works well for this application, but the result will be a bit more liquefied. The ingredient proportions are also great if you want a chunkier salsa and make it the old fashioned way—with a knife and cutting board.

Patti’s version of “Classic Red Table Salsa”

Makes 5 cups                                                                                                         

• 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, core removed
• 5 ounces V-8 juice
• 2 jalapenos, seeded (or less if you prefer a mild salsa)
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large bunch cilantro
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1 teaspoon tequila (optional)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until it reaches your desired consistency.

Grilled Chicken Tostadas

Makes 8

• 8 6” flour tortillas, brushed on each side with olive oil
• 1 pound chicken breast, grilled and sliced into strips about 1” long by ½” thick
• 1 15-ounce can black beans
• ½ tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup smooth red salsa
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 medium tomato, diced for garnish
• Shredded lettuce for garnish
• Additional salsa for garnish
• Sour cream for garnish

For the beans: in a small bowl, mash the beans (including their liquid), cumin and salt with a potato masher. Transfer the beans to a small, non-stick frying pan and cook until hot and some of the liquid has evaporated. Test and adjust seasonings as necessary.

For the tostada: Preheat grill to low. Place tortillas on a large baking sheet. Spread each tortilla with 1/8 beans. Sprinkle each with 1/8 of the chicken. Top with two tablespoons salsa. Sprinkle each with one ounce of cheese.

Using a large spatula, place the tortillas on the grill and close the lid. Grill until the edges of the tortilla are starting to get crisp and the cheese begins to melt, about 2 minutes depending on your grill.

Serve with additional tomato, lettuce, salsa and sour cream for garnish.