When we offered a defense of simple recipes (some might call them "recipes") a couple weeks back, we didn't take into account one particularity of those recipes in question: By many accounts, overloaded tomato sandwiches are not tomato sandwiches at all.
Turns out, there's just as much—if not more—consternation involving tomato sandwiches that are needlessly complicated. The beauty, many adamantly believe, is in the minimalist maximalism. It is more because it is less.
But while we respect the classic and salute the simple, we simply couldn't help ourselves. We let the tomatoes go straight to our heads!
There's the don't-touch-it Southern tomato sandwich on the very left, yes, and then four others that are a little berserk. They're not competitors, though—they're disciples. They follow the same carby-creamy-tomatoey-salty formula, but they're eccentric. You probably wouldn't want to eat them standing over the sink; some might even ask that you bring out a fork and knife.
I'm sure these changes/additions make some damn fine sandwiches, but it won't make a Southern tomato sandwich. Just sayin'.
I Believe I Can Fry
There are plenty of staunch and smart 3-ingredient-tomato-sandwich defenders out there. Listen to James Beard Award-winning cookbook author (who we thank, especially, for these Genius Deviled Eggs) Virginia Willis when she says that her
hands-down, absolute favorite way of eating a tomato in summer is served sliced on white bread with mayonnaise. No chiffonade of basil or tender leaves of oregano. No artisan sourdough bread. No extra virgin olive oil. No hand-pounded garlic aioli. No hand-harvested sea salt. No lemon zest. Not even a slice of crisp, applewood-smoked bacon. Out, out, damn spots of cracked Tellicherry pepper!
Or to Julia, writer of I Believe I Can Fry, who understands that while
it might be hard to fight the urge to add other ingredients like mustard or cheese or pickle slices, [r]esist the urge. Don't add lettuce or bacon—this is a tomato sandwich, not a BLT. [...] I'm sure these changes/additions make some damn fine sandwiches, but it won't make a Southern tomato sandwich. Just sayin'.
Just feel the FOMO laid on thick in the headnote of the 5-star rated Food.com recipe: "If you've only used tomatoes as an accessory in your sandwiches, and not as the Featured Ingredient, you are truly missing summer as it was meant to be tasted." A smack straight to the stomach.
So the cards are stacked against us. Tomatodirt.com lists four known tomato sandwich debates (peeled versus unpeeled, thickness of slices, bread type, mayo type), and now we've added many, many more. Some of the sandwiches above are even best open-faced. (And is an open-faced sandwich really a sandwich at all? ...Is anything sacred?)
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So make, try, and enjoy a simple-as-can-be tomato sandwich. And then, if you're with us (we repeat: tomato sandwich police will never know), you can experiment with a few more elaborate versions, too:
- Fried toast
- Biscuits
- Naan
- Salt and pepper french toast
- Brown butter mayo
- Blistered cherries (cherry tomatoes, that is)
- Roasted tomato jam
- Pickled onions
- Plus all the accessories listed above!
We're not the only loopy ones: Ever since tomatoes cropped up at markets, we've been seeing them slapped on and between slices of bread on our (Not)Recipes app, and you're doing wacko things, too: adding dried thyme; using seedy breads, and even pumpernickel; throwing on some mozzarella cheese; swapping mayo for pesto... Quite a few of you add avocado.
Food52
38
Caroline Lange has a low tolerance for standing by the stove in July (her kitchen, alas, is not air-conditioned). That, plus an abundance of tomatoes and a friend's homemade bread, means the best summer dinner: Good toast, Hellman's mayo, thick tomato slices, and a shower each of salt, pepper, thyme.
Food52
32
Do you smash your avocado before or after applying it to the bread? Since this bread was so fresh, we had to do pre-mashing, but that's perfect for incorporating salt, mint, and lime juice. Those tomatoes are Garden Peach heirlooms. Look like little fuzzy peaches but, once cut, reveal their tomato-y selves.
Sarah
3
Famers market no cook dinner:
Sliced tomatoes in good olive oil, salt and a roughly chopped clove of garlic. Eaten on freshly baked whole wheat sunflower and flax seed bread from the cute bakery guy at the farmers market.
Abby S
17
Leftover arugula pistachio pesto on thick slice of wheat bread. Fresh mozzarella and tomato, broiled. Arugula and avocado with maple Dijon lemon vinaigrette.
Mani Lea
65
Way to hot to cook = open-faced tomato sandwiches: toasted sprouted grain bread, pesto, mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, avocado, basil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
☀️??#summer #notarecipe #simpleanddelicious
Ma'ayan Plaut
28
Tomato sandwiches are all about proportions.
Sourdough, thick tomato slices, mayo, white cheddar, white pepper, lemon salt.
Kayla Williams
14
Ricotta toast 2 ways:
Tomato + balsamic
Honey + cayenne
Food52
39
Summertime tomato dinners for 1 also translate into breakfast the next day. Crisp up some thick-sliced seedy bread in a pan with a little mayo on one side, let 'em go for a few minutes, and remove. Let cool slightly, and then add a little more mayo to the non-crisped side and pile on slices of fresh Jersey beefsteaks, then sprinkle on Maldon salt and a few turns of freshly-ground black pepper. Eat most for dinner but save a little for breakfast; it's just as good cold.
Laura Albanese
41
Avocado toast for dinner anyone? I slathered this with #vegan mayo (Hampton Creek Just Mayo), homemade pesto, smashed avocado and halved cherry tomatoes. Couple cranks of salt and pepper take it to the top ?
Lia Albini
10
Easy and delicious weeknight dinner -- roasted tomatoes, herb goat cheese, toasted sourdough and fresh purple basil from the garden.
Alexis deBoschnek
15
Lightly toast thick, country bread, slather in mayo, top with heirloom tomatoes, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and pepper and call it a day.
Joy Belamarich
35
Straight summer lovin'. Ciabatta, hellman's, heirlooms, s&p, basil from my backyard.
Food52
49
Contributing Editor Lindsay-Jean Hard's tomato sandwich is just as easy as that other tomato sandwich we were all talking about last week (link below), but there's no arguing that it's delicious.
She toasted bread (pumpernickel, the same size as her tomatoes), smeared it with cream cheese, added tomato slices, and sprinkled them with flaky salt and fresh chives.
Luckily, our appetite for tomatoes is such that we'll happily alternate between the super-classic and the super-creative until the changing seasons stop us.
Join The Conversation
Top Comment:
“According to the late, great, much lamented Guy Clark said..."There's only two things that money can't buy...and that's true love and home-grown tomatoes."Nuff said. ”
— amazinc
Comment
You buy a tomato with the intention of making a sandwich. What's your next move? Tell us in the comments below.
This article was originally published in 2016, but we can't get enough tomato sandwiches, so we're sharing it again.
