This is a departure from my usual tomato salad, which is composed of little more than carved-up tomatoes, torn basil, salt, and olive oil. Daniel and I eat this simple salad almost every night in tomato season, since it takes about twenty seconds to assemble and has a juicy purity of tomato flavor that I can’t seem to get enough of this time of year.
These roasted blooms just might be the prettiest dish in this book. Inspired by a recipe from chef Laurent Tourondel, they are also one of the simplest and most delicious.
Many people have little affection for cooked vegetables, possibly because they are often overcooked. This causes them to lose their inherent crisp texture and natural color and allows vitamins, minerals, and good taste substances to seep out into the cooking water. It is little wonder that many children are unenthusiastic about eating vegetables that have been prepared in such a way as to eliminate their interesting qualities. Some of the crisp texture of vegetables can be preserved by grilling or roasting them. As vegetables have a low protein content, no Maillard reactions take place, but the surfaces do caramelize.