Not Your Regular Tomato Salad

The freshest tomatoes are hitting the markets now and for the heirloom variety, the window for peak freshness can be a short one.

So on Thursday's The Early Show, resident Chef Bobby Flay offers a light summer recipe that truly celebrates the fleshy freshness of tomatoes when they're at their best: Stacked Tomato Salad with Black Olive Tapanade, Sheets of Garroxta Cheese & Sweet Basil Dressing.

Fruit or vegetable?
Botanically speaking, the tomato is the fruit of the vine. From a culinary standpoint, the tomato is almost always grouped with vegetables. In 1983, the United States Supreme Court, for the purpose of levying a tariff, officially classified the tomato as a vegetable.

How to purchase tomatoes
Look for a firm flesh with unblemished skin. As with fruit, pick tomatoes that are heavy for their size.

How to store tomatoes
Never store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Refrigeration makes them mealy and robs them of their flavor. A dry, cool location on the counter is just fine.

Heirloom tomatoes
Tomatoes purchased off-peak are generally of the "hothouse" variety meaning they were grown commercially in an artificial environment. In August, we hear a lot about "heirloom" tomatoes. These are tomatoes you really don't want to miss. They are grown from "heirloom" seeds - meaning seeds that have not been scientifically engineered. They are from non-hybrid plants.

Terminology:
Garroxta Cheese is a hard Spanish cheese made from pasteurized goat's milk in a province not far from Catalonia, Spain. Experts say this bone-white cheese is mild, nutty, and herbal in flavor, yet it manages to be creamy all at the same time. With a little tongue-thumping you may get a hint of thyme and rosemary because both herbs are part of a goat's natural forage.

Garroxta cheese goes quite well with fruit, chorizo, crusty bread and strong red wines.

The following is the recipe:

Stacked Tomato Salad with Black Olive Tapanade, Sheets of Garroxta Cheese & Sweet Basil Dressing
Serves: 8

Tapanade
2 cups calamata or Nicoise olives, pitted
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 anchovy fillets
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:
Combine olives, garlic, anchovies and pine nuts in a food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet Basil Dressing
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
3/4 cup pure olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method
Blend vinegar, mustard, honey and basil leaves in a blender until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Salad
4 lbs ripe tomatoes, (beefsteak, yellow, heirloom), sliced into ½-inch thick rounds
2 lbs fresh mozzarella, cut into ¼-inch thick slices
Tapanade
Sweet Basil Dressing
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish
1/4 pound Garroxta cheese, thinly shaved

Method
Place a tomato slice on a plate, spread with some of the tapanade, then place a slice of the mozzarella on top and finish with another tomato slice. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the tomato and around the plate and place a few shavings of Garroxta on top of the tomatoes. Garnish with a sprig of fresh basil, repeat.