Heirloom Tomatoes with Blue Cheese Dressing

When I first saw the heirloom tomato with blue cheese dressing recipe in Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten (great cookbook, by the way), I wasn’t enthused. I despise mayonnaise and the dressing includes a hearty dose. Instead, I made a tangy, tasty vinaigrette to serve over my heirlooms. It was very tasty and I’ve made it again and again since.

But the longer I blog, the more open-minded I get. Seriously. It’s amazing how many new foods I’ve given a chance in the past two — nearly three — years. Fiddlehead greens, kale, and several varieties of squash were all new to new. Forget about buffalo meat (though I haven’t cooked that one myself … yet). And along the way, I have stopped being deterred by ingredients like mustard — which isn’t so bad when mixed without things for a vinaigrette.

So when I discovered an heirloom tomato in my CSA box this week, I knew — I just knew — I had to make this salad as Ina intended. What a concept, right? Actually following a recipe?

Now I don’t know why I waited so long to give this a fair try.

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Heirloom Tomatoes with Blue Cheese Dressing

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Fresh tomatoes are delightful bathed in a homemade blue cheese dressing — what a wonderful way to celebrate the season's best flavors. Recipe from Ina Garten (my notes in parentheses)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 lbs heirloom tomatoes (I used a mix of orange grape tomatoes, yellow heirloom tomatoes, and red tomatoes)
• 
salt and pepper (she calls for kosher, I used sea salt)
• 
1/2 lb blue cheese (she calls for Roquefort, but I used a regular blue)

• 1 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayo)

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 2 tbsp tarragon wine vinegar (I subbed in a light herb vinegar)

Instructions

1. Cut the tomatoes into large slices, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the grape tomatoes, if using, in half. Arrange all the tomatoes on a platter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Combine half of the blue cheese with the mayo, heavy cream and vinegar. Whisk together until smooth. You do want some chunks to remain.
3. Spoon the dressing over the tomatoes. Top with the remaining blue cheese (crumbled).
4. Serve.

And yes, you can refrigerate leftovers — it’s great on the second day too.