With this meal, I was trying to think of inventive ways to use the fantastic heirloom tomatoes that we have from the garden.

I was making Canadian bacon and tomato sandwiches with fennel pollen mayo for lunch (that’s another post.) One of the tomatoes was so juicy it fell apart while I was trying to slice it. It still tasted amazing so I put the tomato and all the juice in a container and started pondering what could be done with it.

Tomato Water and Basil Quinoa

1/2 cup tomato water (I used the liquid left on the plate after slicing several tomatoes.)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup chopped heirloom tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
3 pinches fleur de sel
5 grinds penja pepper

Put tomato water, vegetable stock and quinoa in a sauce pan and bring to a vigorous boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until quinoa is tender but not mushy and the liquid is mostly absorbed.  Remove from heat and add the tomato, basil and seasoning.  Give it a stir and serve.

Lemon Green Beans

1 tbsp good butter
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 tsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 large garlic clove finely chopped
1 small shallot finely chopped
2 lbs fresh green beans
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp grains of paradise

Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 3-4 minutes then put in an ice bath to stop the cooking.  Drain and set aside.  Put the butter and oil in a large deep skillet over medium high heat.  When the butter melts stir it together with the oil and add the garlic and shallots.  Cook for 3 minutes or until they become fragrant and soft.  Add the green beans, brown sugar, lemon juice, then the salt, pepper and grains of paradise.  Toss together for a few minutes then keep warm on low heat until ready to serve.

Slow Roasted Salmon

1 2lb salmon fillet, skin on, scaled, pin bones removed
olive oil
gray salt
cayenne pepper
penja pepper (also known as “Pearl of Cameroon”)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Coat a shallow baking dish with olive oil and place the salmon in the dish, skin side down.  Season with salt, cayenne, and penja pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in the middle rack of the oven for 12 minutes; the salmon will be just cooked through and medium rare–cook it a few more minutes if you like it medium.  Peel off the skin, which should come off easily.  Transfer to a serving plate and cover until serving.

All three of these dishes have about the same cooking time, so it’s pretty easy to have everything ready together.  Kate and Jack said these were the best green beans they had ever tasted.  I must admit, this whole meal was really delicious.  Try it and tell us about it.