Red, White and Blue Tomato Salad

Happy Almost 4th of July! I love this week because my son’s birthday is July 1st and it is fun to celebrate America’s birthday along with Mr. Theo’s!! We will be celebrating this weekend at Eckert’s Summer Concert series with family and friends. I am not sure what is on the menu each night but I will surely be making this celebratory salad sometime this week!

 This recipe for Red, White and Blue Tomato Salad can be easily doubled to feed a crowd. It can be portioned into serving sizes or served on a large platter for pot-lock style meals. Although we are anxiously waiting for the large slicing tomatoes to ripen here on the farm, I have been taking full advantage of our early crop of cherry tomatoes. We are growing a new variety in our high-tunnel this year called Sun Peach. I adore them and often have a bowl of them on my desk to snack on!

 This salad showcases our farm grown produce in patriotic form! Eckert’s corn is still a few weeks away from being ready to pick so I used our frozen white corn, the next best thing. Our frozen corn has won many a blind tastings against home grown corn so I use it anytime corn is not in season. Garlic and kale are also available from the farm so I tossed them into the salad as well.

 I topped my fresh farm pickins’ off with Amablu St. Pete Select, a delicious blue cheese found in our Artisanal cheese case inside our Belleville Country Store. St. Pete’s Select, which is cave-aged for more than 100 days, is deliciously creamy with pronounced sharpness.  We also have Buttermilk Blue and Point Reyes Blue in our Artisanal case. If you are not sure which to choose for your next recipe, ask a deli assistant to give you sample of all three! You will be amazed by the nuances between blue cheeses.

 I hope you will give this festive recipe a try for your next summer gathering. Happy Birthday America and Theo Eckert!

Eat well this summer,

Angie

Red, White and Blue Tomato Salad Salad Dressing
1 large clove Eckert’s fresh garlic, peeled, finely chopped
1/8 tsp. kosher coarse salt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Eckert’s pure honey

Place garlic on cutting board; add about 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt on top. Using a wide-bladed knife; mashed the salt and garlic together to form a paste. In an 8-ounce canning jar with a lid, place garlic paste, olive oil, vinegar and honey. Shake to combine. Set aside.

Salad Ingredients
1 ½ cups frozen white sweet corn*
About 6 cups boiling water
½ tsp. kosher salt
4 cups red and green Eckert’s fresh kale
1 pound Eckert’s high-tunnel red cherry tomatoes, cut in half
4 scallions, thinly sliced (green tops and bottoms)
½ cup blue cheese (approx. 6 oz.)

Add corn to salted boiling water. Simmer about 2 minutes; remove from heat and drain corn immediately. Set aside to cool slightly.

Remove stems from kale and chop very finely. In a 4-quart bowl, place kale and add about 2 tablespoons of the prepared dressing. Toss kale to evenly coat.

Top kale with corn, tomatoes and scallions and toss with the remaining salad dressing. Crumble about 1 cup blue cheese over salad.

Makes 4 side salads. Adding deli chopped roast beef to create entrée salad.

*equivalent to 2 ears of corn