A Dish of Sliced Tomatoes


It's August - and that most seasonable of vegetables is ripening - tomatoes! How utterly perfect, because the current challenge for the Historical Food Fortnightly is Seasonal Fruits/Vegetables.  The challenge: concoct a dish based on the fruits and/or vegetables that would have been in season and available to the particular time you wish to interpret. It needn’t be the place you are in at this moment, but it should coincide with the season!

I selected "Tomatoes Sliced with Onions," which can be found on  p 49 of Elizabeth Lea's book Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers (10th edition), published in 1859 in Maryland.





This simple recipe makes a lovely summer salad that highlights the tomatoes.  
                                  
  Tomatoes Sliced with Onions

                                     Pick the best tomatoes, let them stand a little in cold water, then peel 
                                     and slice them.  To about 6 tomatoes you may add 2 red onions, also sliced.
                                     Season with pepper, plenty of salt, and a small portion of vinegar.


Making the Dish
Despite years of struggle, I cannot grow tomatoes in my yard, due to too much shade. Since I wanted to make this up at a weekend reenactment, I could not rely on tomatoes purchased a full week in advance at the town farmers' market.  I knew using grocery tomatoes would create a major difference in taste, but so it was.

Mrs. Lea tells you to skin the tomatoes before slicing.  I totally deviated and chose to leave the skins on.  All the other tomato recipes she includes in this same section use peeling as a prelude to cooking or stewing, where the skins would be a textural distraction.  I saw no benefit to peeling the tomatoes, believing it would help the slices keep their integrity rather than becoming a pulpy mass. 

To 4 tomatoes (which is all that would fit in the bowl), I added 1 small red onion.  I am not such a fan of raw onion, even though red onion is a bit milder.

I salted and peppered, tossed, then added cider vinegar, since that seems to be a dominant type of vinegar in the 1860s.    I gently tossed again and let it sit for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

The salad was delightful and refreshing - perfect for summer.  I was uncertain what to expect, being used to an oil and vinegar dressing, but the cider vinegar alone was light and flavorful.  


                            This version was made with heirloom tomatoes, a gift from someone's garden

Evaluation

We loved the recipe so much that I have made it several more times in both a modern and historic setting.  Try it yourself and see if you agree!

Time:  Under half an hour
  
Cost: minimal - tomatoes and an onion.  I always have cider vinegar in my pantry.  

Accuracy:  I did not peel the tomatoes.  This may or may not have made a major difference in the texture of the finished salad.









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