In the midst of this crazy lost summer, the arrival of sun-kissed tomatoes makes everything almost seem normal. Like crashing undulating waves, they flood the local markets with breathtaking color. The thrill of summer. Yet, while overwhelmed in the beginning, we eventually and quietly take them for granted. Another day, another tomato. And then before we know it, they're gone. In a flash, they vanish and summer slips away. Hang on to simple pleasures. Hold fast to this lost summer.Like most folks, I'm a fool for the perfect jewels of summer. The pretty ones. They glisten, pulse, and beckon like sirens of the sea. Even so, I'm most smitten with the gnarled culls, cracked catheads, and scarred want-nots. The outcast jewels relegated to the back bins of the farm stands sold on the cheap. Oh sure, they're not pretty, easy to handle, or great for slicing , but they're mighty fabulous. Once manipulated and cleaned, they're great diced up for salads, roasted for sauces, or chunked up for snacks. Along with the pretties, they're also the reason for the season. Embrace the uglies.
B.L.T.
Bacon. Lettuce. Tomato.
Summer on bread....or wrapped in lettuce.
Pork Belly Tomato Jam Lettuce Wraps.
Summer pig candy.
BLT with a twist.
86 the bread and mayo.
Bacon.
Bacon is simply cured and smoked pork belly. Belly is bacon. Bacon is belly.
The key to good bacon and great pork belly is the crispy unctuous fat. Fat equals flavor.
Unlike fabulous jacked up methods for preparing pork belly, I kept it simple for a summer BLT.
After salting a 1 pound slab of Rolling Blue Farm pork belly, I slid it into the refrigerator to dry brine overnight.
After bringing the pork belly to room temp, I liberally seasoned the skin with additional salt and cracked black pepper before sliding it into a preheated 350 oven to roast for 2 hours, crisping the top under the broiler during the last 10 minutes. When crisped and evenly browned, I pulled the pork belly from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing it into 1/4" lardons.
Tomato.
Lipstick on a pig.
Tomato jam is my summer jam. It works great during early season when new tomatoes are iffy, during high season when they're unbelievable, and during late season when tomatoes are fading and we're holding onto memories.
Some tomato jams are labor intensive and persnickety No seeds. No skins. Precise cuts. Perfect perfect perfect. It's hard to jam when bound by fussy preciousness. Just go for it.
Tomato jam should be fun.
I used a 2 pound combination of farmers' market tomatoes (beauties and beasts).
After coring and chopping 4 large Pulaski County Beefsteak cathead tomatoes, 4 Shelby County Purple Cherokee tomatoes, 4 Hienkle Heirloom Romas, and 4 split Casey County Big Boys, I tossed them together into a large bowl and seasoned them with salt.
Jamming.Working over a medium flame in a large dutch oven, I sauteed 1 cup diced Boyd County candy onion, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, and 1 heaping tablespoon grated fresh ginger in 2 tables olive oil. When the onions turned translucent, I tumbled the tomatoes into a dutch oven, seasoned them with salt and cracked black pepper, mixed everything together, and let the tomatoes rip until they released their juices and started to break down. As the tomatoes softened, I added 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground clove, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon ground mustard, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup Olberholtzer sorghum, 1 tablespoon Modena reduced balsamic, and 3 tablespoons cup apple cider vinegar. After giving it a good stir, I lowered the heat to a simmer, and let the jam gurgle away, stirring from time to time, until it reduced and thickened into a rich sticky jam.
After pulling the tomato jam from the heat, I let it cool before spooning it into pint sized mason jars.
Lettuce.While the sticky sweet jam was still on the warm side, I tossed 1 cup of tomato jam with the reserved pork belly lardons, added 2 tablespoons snipped garden chives, and nestled the pig candy into wispy butter lettuce leaves before finishing with quick pickled sliced Stonehedge radishes and fresh basil.
Crunchy.
Wet.
Sweet.
Salty.
A lost summer BLT.Get your jam on.
