Marinated tomatoes are a gift from summer.
Simple to make but fancy in taste, these marinated vegetables are bite size tastes of the season, packed with lively flavor and warm sunshine.
What are these?
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Farmers Market.
Summer has always been my favorite season. Warm temperatures (a luxury here in Wisconsin), blue skies, swimming in the lake with our kids, and visiting our favorite farmers market. Every. Single. Saturday. That’s how we roll. We use the weekend to breath, with our family and with the season.
Throughout the state, Wisconsin is covered with farms. That means plenty of farmers’ markets in the summer and even a few that go on throughout the year. Madison is our state capital and has one of the largest and most well-known farmers markets in the entire country. Unique because it encircles the state capital, it’s a place where county meets city and is a juxtaposition of some of the very best of what the mid-west and Wisconsin in particular has to offer.
Although we are a coupe of hours away from Madison, we typically make the pilgrimage there once or twice a year, and we always try to hit the Saturday farmers market when we are in town. Here’s a feature that we did a couple of years go on the legendary farmers market of Madison, Wisconsin.
Closer to home, Appleton, Wisconsin also has a huge farmers market and in case you are wondering, we also wrote about this well-known summer favorite as well.
Marinated Farmers Market Tomatoes can be made with any tomato, from any source. Fresh is always best and knowing your source is just as important. Did I mention that it helps everyone around, when you buy local?
How to use them
- In salads
- On grilled meats
- In pasta
- By themselves
- Use the leftover marinade as a salad dressing
When putting this simple recipe together, start by combining the liquid ingredients. Namely, the red wine vinegar and the olive oil. Then add the aromatics: The garlic, parsley, and basil.
When making this recipe for Marinated Farmers Market Tomatoes, cut and add the tomatoes as the last step. This minimizes the loss of juice, the most important part of the taste of these summer beauties.
Be sure and try these marinated beauties in our Spaghetti Caprese. It’s pure summer, at its very finest.
Also, always use a serrated knife when cutting tomatoes. The course ridges on the knife allow for an even and clean slice through tomatoes. (The same knife is also best for slicing bread.)
Remember, you can’t hurry love. This recipe for Marinated Farmers Market Tomatoes is all about the love of summer and its bounty. There are just a handful of ingredients to this easy recipe, they are all good friends and become even better with a little time.
So, let them hang out and get to know each other. You’ll be glad you did; especially when you pop one of these joyful bits of summer in your mouth. Long live summer! -Dan
Other delicious appetizers
Marinated Farmers Market Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pint fresh farmers market cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup loosely packed Italian parsley leaves
- 1 pinch sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- In small jar, combine red wine vinegar and olive oil. Add shallot, garlic, parsley and basil, along with salt, pepper and sugar. Use large wooden spoon and mix together.
- Coarsely chop tomatoes using serrated knife. Add to marinade and gently stir.
- Allow to set for at least 90 minutes. Before using. Reserve leftover marinade for salad dressing, if desired.
