Summer Salad: Tomatoes Two Ways  

2-3 medium to large heirloom tomatoes
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic 
1 small shallot
1 lemon
Fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Sea salt 
Black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

Put your cherry tomatoes in an ovenproof dish along with a handful of torn basil leaves; 5 cloves of slivered garlic; about a 1/4 cup of olive oil; a generous sprinkling of salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Mix together. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, agitating the pan a bit, until lightly browned and caramelized. The roasting will intensify the flavor and concentrate the juices. When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temp.

Meanwhile, pound a clove of garlic with a big pinch of salt in a ceramic mortar and pestle. When the garlic is a translucent paste, cover with a big splash of red wine vinegar and let sit to macerate. Finely dice your shallot and add it to the garlic and vinegar, along with the juice of half a lemon, making sure your alliums are fully submerged in acid.

Slice your bigger tomatoes in large rounds (about a 1/4-1/3 inch thick) and lay them on a platter in a single layer. Season with salt. Ladle your roasted cherry tomatoes over top, so that you see a mix of both cooked and fresh tomatoes. 

Whisk plenty of oil olive into our garlicky-shallot vinegar mixture (about 1 part acid to two parts oil) and spoon generously over the tomatoes. Give the tomatoes a good shower of black pepper using our Pepper Spitz, the zest of a lemon and a handful of small leaves of basil plucked from the stem, or several larger leaves, chiffonaded. 

Serves 4-6