Food52's Best Heirloom Tomato Recipe Showdown: Vote For The Best Dish

For the past year, Food52.com readers have been voting in weekly showdowns of reader-submitted recipes on a given theme. The winning recipes of each week will end up in Food52's upcoming cookbook, along with bios of the people who submitted them (Food52 explains the process in simple detail here).

Food52 and its co-founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs have invited you, fun-loving HuffPost Food readers, to vote on the contest for week 7 (of the second year).

Week 7's showdown is for the best use of heirloom tomatoes.

Check the finalists out below, and vote for your favorite here.

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Heirloom Tomato and Lemon Mascarpone Tart

Photo: Melanie Einzig

Amanda and Merrill's notes on "Heirloom Tomato and Lemon Mascarpone Tart" on Food52.com:

What we love most about this summer tart is the fact that nannydeb doesn't cook the tomatoes, but rather leaves them to shine in all their juicy glory -- that, and the addictive combination of the tomatoes, creamy mascarpone, savory crust, and grassy, garlicky basil oil. What's more, we learned a nifty new technique: you can use a paste of flour and water instead of plain ice water to bring the dough together. This tart would make a very elegant first course, or, paired with a green salad, a perfect lunch al fresco. - A&M

View the "Heirloom Tomato and Lemon Mascarpone Tart" recipe here.

Vote for this recipe here.

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Heirloom Tomato and Mango Lassi with Ground Sumac

Photo: Melanie Einzig

Amanda and Merrill's notes on "Heirloom Tomato and Mango Lassi with Ground Sumac" on Food52.com:

The lassi is deeply underappreciated, don't you think? Cooling and substantive, it responds to your thirst with tang and candor. Here, Sagegreen makes a lassi (the second lassi submission for the tomato theme - one more and we'd have had a trend, friends) that's expansively flavored, with not just mango but tomato, too. With not merely cardamom and honey but a sprinkling of sumac (if you can't find it, just double the lemon zest). The tomato has a way of sharpening up the mango with gutsy contrast. Serve this extraordinary treat (well-chilled!) to guests and make them guess the secret ingredients. - A&M

View the "Heirloom Tomato and Mango Lassi with Ground Sumac" recipe here.

Vote for this recipe here.

Comments

[Js420]

03:04 PM on 08/08/2010

Heirloom tomatoes are delicious on everything...well except cereal & pancackes

[Trittydi]

03:52 AM on 08/08/2010

These look amazing - I have to find a source for the plants. Our (regular) tomato yield has been insane this year though - we're doing "sun-dried" (over 50 lbs raw), tomato salads, gazpacho (batch after batch), we're giving them away ....

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/studies-conclude-urine-good.html
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/tomatoes-urine-yield.html
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[BlueKansas]

10:59 PM on 08/08/2010

Heirloom tomatoes would have to be grown from seed, which is available online or at specialty nurseries. They're tough to get to set fruit, though. I'm outside every day, shaking the plants so they'll pollinate. Hybrids are much easier, but even a few fruits off each heirloom plant would make it worthwhile to me. This has been an awful summer for them in KC. They're pretty scarce sao far, even at farmers markets. They're just not ripening in all the extreme heat, and I'm getting impatient!!!

[Trittydi]

04:23 AM on 08/09/2010

I figured it would be from seed.

I worked in a greenhouse for several years and a woman came in that could not get her squash plants to fruit. The owner told her to get out a paintbrush and hand-pollinate them.
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[Trittydi]

04:24 AM on 08/09/2010

I have tomatoes ripening with the top third still a greenish-yellow - while the bottom two thirds are completely ripe. Strangest thing I've ever seen - but we've also been very hot for time of year. Maybe that's why.
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[Alice Radley]

02:23 PM on 08/07/2010

I suppose this isn't much of a recipe, but I could go for an heirloom tomato, sliced thin, sprinkled with salt and pepper. They're so simple and fantastically tasty. It's such a flavor of summer.

[PurpleTomato]

06:52 PM on 08/07/2010

During the growing season i have homegrown heirloom tomatoes with every meal.Tonight i will be dining on Cherokee Purples.

[Alice Radley]

07:33 PM on 08/07/2010

Delicious!

[DBtv]

02:56 PM on 08/08/2010

The mighty Cherokee Purple is my favorite heirloom. I have 18 fruit ripening on the vines, but none ready yet. The growing season in Colorado is late starting.

[hobo62]

09:36 PM on 08/07/2010

Throw in just a little blue cheese and hit it with a hair dryer for a minute also.

[Trittydi]

03:53 AM on 08/08/2010

Also great with feta cheese and pumpkin seeds with a light dressing.
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[peskime]

10:40 AM on 08/07/2010

I have six varieties of organic heirloom tomatoes in my garden, once they are ripe they will be devoured in various fashion!

[BannedNBoston]

04:12 PM on 08/07/2010

Tom Vilsack will love this bill.
Your heirloom tomatoes history if this bill passes!

http://www.rense.com/general91/dehe.htm

[hobo62]

09:39 PM on 08/07/2010

Just shows how stupid things can get sometimes. So if I can't eat my tomatoes (get serious) I can always throw them when a politico comes to town.

[peskime]

11:25 PM on 08/07/2010

Isn't Rense a conspiracy site?

And yes, I am quite aware of Monsanto's draconian business practices from trying to sell genetically modified alfalfa to organic farms, etc. As an organic gardener and proponent of organic foods, I do all that I can to fight this chemical giant!

[PurpleTomato]

06:53 PM on 08/07/2010

Enjoy!!!
Fanned and Faved peskime.

[liarsclub75]

12:40 AM on 08/07/2010

I've never met a tomato I didn't like.

[odyssey58]

09:59 PM on 08/06/2010

I would rather have seen recipes that used ingredients that were in season at the same time as heirloom tomatoes. Mangoes don't grow anywhere near me. Neither do lemons.

[ErinMae]

08:18 PM on 08/06/2010

Seeing as I have a few minutes to kill at work....

If you go to CookingLight.com and search for a recipe called "fiery tomato jam" you will thank yourself at your next get together. It's some grated tomatoes, onion, chopped jalapeno, a bit of sugar, boiling, adding a little lime juice, some cilantro then cooling. Anyway, it's wonderful. Use it on a good cracker (w/ a little light cream cheese it's especially yummy!) or with grilled proteins or veggies. It's a fantastic way to use up your crop of heirlooms. Also, the stuff freezes well. Pour it into icecube trays, freeze, store in a freezer bags and thank yourself in December when you miss fresh food.

Okay, on my way home now...

[PurpleTomato]

01:29 AM on 08/08/2010

Sounds good ErinMae,i'll give it a try.Thank You.

[ErinMae]

01:46 AM on 08/08/2010

Oh, so glad I happened to check back in tonight! Look for "fiery flank steak with tomato jam". I rechecked, and that's what the recipe is actually called. I forgot the flank steak because I never actually do that part of the recipe! Also, once you bring it to a boil, let it simmer hard for forever - an hour is good. You really want to drive off a lot of the liquid, it makes it even tastier! I learned that from trial and error. My husband actually made a batch this am while I was out shopping and we had it w/ crackers and a nice light red wine for dinner. Happy cooking, PurpleTomato! Cheers!

[Robin08]

02:19 PM on 08/06/2010

Wow. I clicked over thinking I was going to find some heirloom tomato recipes. Two recipes ain't much of a showdown.

[Amanda Hesser]

08:47 PM on 08/08/2010

Robin08 -- thanks for clicking over (I'm a co-founder of food52). The two finalists were selected from 159 entries. You can see them all here: http://www.food52.com/contests/166_your_best_recipe_using_heirloom_tomatoes#submissions Have fun browsing!

[Robin08]

12:14 PM on 08/09/2010

Thank you.

[lioness39]

10:23 AM on 08/06/2010

The recipe that I will definitely try on this site is the quinoa, millet, brown rice crust with the tomatoes and goat cheese. Can't wait.