Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated varieties that have been grown somewhere for 50 years or longer. Yet the varieties remain true-to-type – although when we talk about an heirloom variety, true-to-type doesn't necessarily mean that all of the fruit look the same. Open pollination confers upon heirlooms greater genetic variation – and less uniformity in appearance – than what we see in a commercial hybrid variety. The genetic variation in heirlooms represents an agricultural resource and the biodiversity resulting from many generations of cultivation. In heirloom tomatoes we see a testament to the popular choices, selections, preferences and needs of tomato growers and consumers who have enjoyed tomatoes around the world.

Also, heirlooms taste better than any other tomato you can buy at the grocery store. Despite my respect for biodiversity, as far as I'm concerned, heirlooms only exist to satisfy the tastes of those who don't grow their own garden but still want a real tomato (1) in season, and (2) out-of-season. I fall into both of those categories. For better or worse (which I say because heirlooms aren't cheap), I feel lucky heirlooms have appeared again at my local Whole Foods Market.

I'm making heirloom tomato salsa tonight, to go with pork tamales from the Mexican market and the last of my leftover rice and black beans. Crumbling feta cheese over the top will make it all taste just right.

Ingredients
1 medium-large organic heirloom tomato (approximately ¾ pound, at $4.99 per pound), chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice (from concentrate, $2.19 per 15 ounce bottle)
½ teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño chile ($0.24 from King's Sooper), finely diced
several tablespoons fresh cilantro ($2.49 per bunch), chopped

Procedure
Put lime juice into a bowl. Mix in salt. Add jalapeño and then tomato and cilantro. Stir well, and set aside while you prepare the rest of your meal.

Originally posted on Sunday, April 6, 2008.


UPDATE, Saturday, July 19, 2008—Roasted tomato salsa: Here's a variation on tomato salsa – this one made special by roasting the tomatoes, jalapeños, onion and garlic. It's not a salsa for using heirloom tomatoes. Instead, use the hydroponic tomatoes that come from the grocery store (or use your own homegrown, if you've got them).

Here in Northern Colorado, hydroponic tomatoes come from the Honeyacre Produce Company, which is located in Wiggins, Colorado – 70 miles east of here, out on the shortgrass steppe. I'm pretty sure Honeyacre grows its tomatoes with this salsa in mind.

Ingredients
2 medium tomato (approximately 1 pound, at $3.99 per pound)
1 jalapeño chile ($0.45 from Whole Foods)
½ medium-size red onion, cut in half ($1.99 per bag of five onions)
3 garlic clove, unpeeled ($0.69 per head)
¼-½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped ($2.49 per bunch)
1 tablespoon lime juice (from concentrate, $2.19 per 15 ounce bottle)
½ teaspoon salt

Procedure
Place the tomatoes, jalapeño, onion and garlic onto a sheet of aluminum foil. Broil the vegetables in the oven until they're blistered and blackened. Then flip them over, and broil them on the other side. When done, put the roasted tomatoes into a bowl to collect the juice and allow to cool. Put the roasted jalapeño into an airtight plastic container to steam. Put the roasted onion into the bowl of a food processor. Also press the roasted garlic into the bowel of the food processor. (If the garlic is overcooked, do what you can, and then press a fresh garlic clove into the food processor.)

Skin the tomatoes (core them if you feel like it), and add them to the food processor, along with any juice. Skin and de-seed the jalapeño; cut into ½-inch strips, and add to the food processor. Add the cilantro, lime juice and salt.

Process until smooth but not liquid. Taste, and correct the seasonings. Usually I end up adding more cilantro, lime juice and salt. Let the flavors blend at room temperature while you finish preparing your meal.

Thursday night I served this salsa with guacamole, long grain brown rice (4 cups for $1.50, on sale), homemade black beans and hamburgers.


UPDATE, Friday, October 21, 2011—Cherry tomato salsa: The end is near for getting fresh produce from the farmer's market. Even so, last Sunday at the farmer's market on Harmony one of the growers offered a spectacular variety of cherry tomatoes – which made me grateful for summer. The grower offered two varieties of yellow cherries, one variety of orange cherries, and one variety each of a small and a large red cherry. I bought a pint of the large red cherries.

The thing I do with cherry tomatoes – salsa-wise – is to make a salsa that lets the tomatoes shine on their own. I make a cooling salsa that showcases the tomatoes and omits any heat from a chile. My recipe is described below. It complements the green chili and stuffed ancho chiles that we make – both of which I'll eventually talk about on this blog.

Ingredients
1 pint cherry tomato ($3 per pint from the farmer's market)
1 shallot, finely chopped ($2 for eight shallots from the farmer's market)
2 tablespoon chopped chive
2-3 tablespoon chopped cilantro or Italian parsley
¼ teaspoon salt
1 splash lime juice (from concentrate, $2.19 per 15 ounce bottle)

Procedure
Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Mix them with the other ingredients, and let the flavors mingle at room temperature before serving.