I remember how my last beefsteak tomato tasted from garden. I’ll never taste it again.
Cue music:
“I’ll never have that recipe again. Oh no!”
But! All cheesy songs aside, I have one more jar of my homemade Szechuan pickled eggplant that paired so perfectly with it. It numbed my tongue just a little. And that Tomme de Kamouraska, a raw sheep’s milk cheese, is available year-round at most fine fromagerie in Montreal, including my neighbourhood Fromagerie Atwater. the purple cabbage? Homemade sauerkraut. I have a half a jar left. Cabbage is available year-round, too, though, in case you get ambitious. It’s miles better than storebought, and actually full of good-for-you things instead of preservatives or things that would have been healthy if pasteurization hadn’t killed them.
The greens? Sorrel from my garden. I have a small bag left and I can sneak into my closed garden and harvest more up until the snow comes. After that, it’s back to wilting California organic mesclun or arugula.
why the plastic? Because I bought some vegetarian take-out somewhere and can’t throw out plastic easily. It breaks my heart a little. But at least it’s not styrofoam. Which is worse? Do I want to know? but for anyone who’s ever bought a take-out salad at the grocery store, let me tell you that a) you ca recycle those containers by washing them out with hot, soapy water and using them again, and b) this salad was better than that. Because those eggplant will take me back to August.
Every time my lips tingle…
Sorrel and Tomato Salad with Sichuan Peppercorn-Pickled Eggplant
Serves 4 for lunch
2 cups sorrel (or other greens)
2 beefsteak tomatoes
3/4 cup sauerkraut (follow the hyperlinked recipe to make your own, and if you want it purple, use purple cabbage)
A couple slices of raw cheese (try the Tomme de Kamouraska or another sheep’s milk cheese if any are available, but just go with something firm that you like. A good cheese place will let you taste before buying)
8 slices of Sichuan-pickled eggplant (make this recipe, replacing the cucumbers with eggplant slices and the black peppercorns with Sichuan peppercorns)
Drizzle of olive oil
Layer ingredients, finishing with the olive oil. Remember how sunshine used to feel on your skin. Cry a little. Eat. Stop crying.
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