Tomatoes on a Fence

I’ve now had the pleasure of dining at Blue Hill in New York a couple of times. Last fall, I took my parents when they were in town visiting, and it was the catalyst for these beautiful photographs. Of course the whole meal was wonderful, but to my dad, who is a master craftsman when it comes to all things carving a woodworking, the highlight was the amuse bouche. Tomatoes on a Fence is a tribute to both Blue Hill, and my father, who share the gift of helping others see the art in the beauty of the natural word and appreciation for the nourishment we take from it. The amuse was in many ways, the simplest of things. It featured tiny heirloom vegetables blanched or served raw on a “fence”. Dad was so entranced by the beautiful fence that he made me one for Christmas. It’s definitely not a serving item that I use all the time, as it really does require tiny vegetables to make the scale work, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to share this lovely sculpture with you during the height of heirloom tomato season. The beautiful tomatoes look like precious gems or painstakingly crafted bon bons. I served them with a the light lemon vinaigrette that Chef Dan Barber shared in Gourmet Magazine in 2008. It’s perfect in its simplicity, just like the Tomatoes on a Fence themselves. Words of wisdom: use the best olive oil and sea salt you have; the lightly tart dressing brings out the sugars in the Tomatoes on a Fence.

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Tomatoes on a Fence

Author: Barrett Bridenhagen

Ingredients

• 1-2 pints of small varieties of heirloom tomatoes
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard make sure you like the Dijon you pick, they vary a lot
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil or ½ cup olive oil and ¼ cup of the amazing lemon oil Barber makes for may of his salads

Instructions

• In medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil(s). Vinaigrette can be made ahead, but serve at room temperature.
• Before the guests arrive, arrange the tomatoes on the fence as your heart desires. I varied the color, size, shape, and cut some in half because I love the aesthetics. Also, they absorb the dressing better in half. But I think it would be beautiful arranged by color as well. Ah, next time.
• See the tiny cucumbers I slipped in as well? It's the bright green oval in the foreground. They're called mouse melons and have a bright flavor and crisp texture. They're best serve sliced in half in my opinion. They're a little hard to stab with a fork if you're not eating with your fingers.
• I love that I caught a drop of tomato juice before it dripped out of the Green Tiger Grape Tomato.
• Drizzling lemon vinagrette on the Garden Peach Fuzzy Tomato, which may be the most beautiful tomato I've ever seen. Though, that's really a very silly superlative when this rainbow of tomatoes is what makes them so extraordinary.
• You'll definitely need a tray or a towel under the wood. The tomatoes and the vinaigrette look beautiful as they drip off the edges. And just look at all of the burls in the grain of the beautiful piece of butternut my dad selected for my fence. So gorgeous. It truly is a piece of art. And the best news, the tomatoes look almost as stunning on the good china. Enjoy this easy salad until the tomatoes give out.