Sunday, May 27, 2007

THE OX'S HEART - 2


Liz and James wanted to know what the tomatoes tasted like: I can report that they are delicious, tasting very ripe, of the sun and even a bit winey. Now, I think that an Italian caprese salad of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and, of course, olive oil is a very fine thing indeed, but I am also of the opinion that excellent tomatoes make a good salad in their own right; they do not have to be buried under mounds of lettuce or anything else. Here's what I do:


Slice the tomatoes, lay in a dish and season with fine seasalt and black pepper. Pour over a little red wine vinegar and add some very finely chopped shallots and garlic. Then add some torn basil leaves and mix everything gently. Leave in the fridge for at least an hour and drizzle with good olive oil just before serving. Simplicity itself.


My friend Anne has found a website giving the history of the cuore di bue. While you're over there, do take a look at Anne's lovely pottery!

23 comments:

PinkAcorn said...

My mouth is watering for some home grown tomatoes. My Sicilian father usually plants abt. 50 tomato plants every year but he will be 90 in July and has grown tired of the maintenance. Sad summer for me.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Pinkacorn, I'm sorry for your sadness. But isn't your Dad brilliant to have planted the tomatoes thus far? You must have treasured memories.

Lee said...

I'm a lover of tomatoes and eat quite a lot of them. Plus I grow my own. At the moment, my cherry tomatoes are keeping me stocked. I love tomatoes just with ground black pepper, salt, vinegar and onion rings, with fresh bread. I also often do them with sliced mozzarella, basil, red onion rings, olive oil and balsamic vinegar sprinkled over the to as part of a luncheon.

I'm a great one for eating my cherry tomatoes straight from the bush, too, as I'm picking them! ;)

Liz Hinds said...

I'm with Lee on this one. Husband grows the cherry tomatoes and quite a few of them never make it to the house. I wander past and pick and eat the warm sweet tomatoes straight from the stalk. Lovely.

I also like my tomato salad simple as you describe, Welshcakes. Sometimes a little sugar sprinkled with the salt and pepper helps bring out what flavour there is in some of the less tasty ones we buy.

marymaryquitecontrary said...

I now know what I am having for lunch.I have not been online for a while but I am so pleased that you are showing little Madelines picture. If all bloggers did the same it would be wonderful. I do not know how to do it but I will try.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Lee. That sounds like my kind of lunch! Lee and Liz, I'd eat cherry tomatoes all day if I grew them! Liz, yes, a little sugar is a good idea.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, marymary. Nice to have you back. I put the pic of Madeleine on because a couple of weeks ago the story was not getting any coverage here. That has since changed and all the main channels and papers are covering it today because of the Papal visit. This is how I put the pic on: Go to Sky news site and if Madeleine is not the main story click on Madeleine on the left. Then click where it says "How you can help." You should see the image. I copied this onto my desktop and then went to blogger layout - add page element- and followed the uploading instructions. There is probably an easier way to do it but it was trial and error for me. I also posted on the situation in Italian and French , again because people didn't know about it here, and my hairdresser and some bars have put the notice up for me in Italian and French. I think it's unlikely she has been brought through Italy but I think it's important to keep people aware in Mediterranean areas. I think blogs are a good way of keeping the profile high because between us all, we reach a lot of people in a lot of countries. Hope you manage to put the photo on yours. Auguri.

marymaryquitecontrary said...

Thank you for your help, I have just added photo of little Madeline. I feel very emotional. I do hope they find her.

James Higham said...

Great. I have all of those. I'm going to give it a try.

Jeremy Jacobs said...

Tomatoes. Very good for one's health.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Thanks for the link WL. They sound lovely, just as I like them...simple and tasty!!! Like the sound of Lee's tomatoes as well.

CityUnslicker said...

my father follows this recipe sometimes. Too much garlic and I don't want to talk to him for days!!

jmb said...

Well they turned out quite fine by the looks of things. This will save cutting up mozzarella which I hate doing.
I'm very thankful that I am not allergic to tomatoes because they are my must-have for lunch every day. We get very nice hydroponically grown, ripened on the vine tomatoes, grown in greenhouses here since we are in the cooler climes.

That article on Wikipedia about cuore di bue was so funny, automatically translated from the German with some really funny turns of phrase.

Lee said...

I always leave my salad, particularly tomato ones such as this, out of the fridge as I prefer them room temperature to cold. I think they have much more flavour when not cold, straight from the fridge. I never keep fruit in the fridge either as I eat my fruit at room temperature. Just my personal preference, I guess.

Whispering Walls said...

is there a cuore di buffalo?

Chris at 'Chrissie's Kitchen' said...

Oh, WLC, I can't wait for my greenhouse tomatoes to ripen! Having tried all sorts of varieties, I now tend to stick with 'Gardeners' Delight', a juicy cherry tomato full of flavour & sweetness.I also grow my own basil, among other herbs & leaves, plus garlic if I remember to (not his year though.)

elleeseymour said...

My mouth is watering too...

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

A pleasure, marymary. I hope so, too. Hope it turned out all right, James. Yes, they are, JJ - and I love them! You're welcome, Anne. Welcome back, C/U. Hi, jmb. We don't have to cut up the mozzarella here as we can buy tiny balls of it. Yes, auto-translated articles are quite funny, sometimes. I often get cross about them because translation is skilled work and you cannot translate word for word as these things do.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Lee. I like tomatoes, peaches, grapes and melon really cold! WW, not that I know of! Your tomatoes sound delicious, Lizzie. I've got pots of herbs growing on the balcony. Hi, Ellee. Glad you liker the idea, too.

Maria said...

That is just my favorite thing to eat! YUMMY!!! Now I am hungry and need to snack! lol

M

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, M. Enjoy your snack!

Eurodog said...

WL,
I came upon this blog quite by accident and I invite to have a look at it. Also read my comment in the post about the salad and see what your opinion is on the matter. Regards. Eurodog

http://happyburp.blogspot.com/2006/06/mozzarella-salad-with-oxheart-tomatoes.html

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Thanks, eurodog. will do.

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