Tomato Sandwiches in January

Whether eaten at a white tablecloth spot or over the kitchen counter or on your back porch the tomato sandwich is the one sandwich that I wait for all year. Call me crazy, but I believe that how you build your tomato sandwich might just speak volumes about your personality. The results confirmed what we already knew: we are an opinioned bunch of tomato sandwich fiends.

It is nothing fancy, but over the years, I have tweaked it until I came up with the tomato sandwich that best suits my taste: two pieces of whole grain toasted bread spread thick with mayo and stuffed as generously as possible with slices of ripe tomato, plus some salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Turns out, there is just as much—if not more—consternation involving tomato sandwiches that are needlessly complicated. The beauty, many adamantly believe, is in the minimalist minimalism. It is more because it is less. But while we respect the classic and salute the simple, we simply couldn’t help ourselves. We let the tomatoes go straight to our heads!
Hands-down, my absolute favorite way of eating a tomato in summer is served sliced on white bread or as stated above toasted whole wheat bread with mayonnaise. Lots and lots of mayo! No chiffonier of basil or tender leaves of oregano. No artisan sourdough bread. No extra virgin olive oil. No hand-pounded garlic aioli. No hand-harvested sea salt. No lemon zest. Not even several slices of crisp, apple wood-smoked bacon. Out, out, spots of cracked Tellicherry pepper!

A tomato sandwich is a sandwich of tomatoes between slices of bread. The bread of a tomato sandwich is typically spread with mayonnaise. A tomato sandwich may also be seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, anchovies, parsley or basil. The tomato sandwich is, in my opinion, both under and over-appreciated, depending on the camp you fall into. Some just don’t appreciate the magic of a perfect tomato sandwich, while others, like me, think about it more often than is technically healthy. (I figure if fantasizing about tomato sandwiches is among the worst of my vices, I’m probably okay.) When tomato season is in full swing I tend to have a tomato sandwich for lunch at least three days a week.


But and this is the all important and BIG but; when tomatoes are in season! Sure now at your local Wal-mart, Piggy Wiggly, or favorite local super market you can find and buy tomatoes year round. Usually these “hot-house” tomatoes have little to no taste, unless you favor eating cardboard. So craving delicious tomatoes sandwiches all year long and even here in the Deep South only able to enjoy them between the months of May to September leaves me longing for an acid fill mouth of tomato the rest of the year. Maybe I can get lucky and find a vine-ripen tomato or two in the middle of October but what am I to do from then to the next harvest in May?
So I make out okay through Thanksgiving with fried turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings. Then fill my mind and stomach with Christmas goodies but by January I am suffering server tomato sandwich withdrawal. I mean I want one, need one, got to have one so……. There is a recipe for tomato junkies such as me.
First you open a can of whole peeled tomatoes, second you place the ‘maters in a bowl and mash them removing some of the juice, salt and pepper to taste while in the bowl. Very important step here is to first pierce the beautiful round delicious peeled tomatoes with your fork. If you just squash you will very likely be splattered with cold, wet, tee-shirt staining ‘mater juice. The next step is to toast some lighting bread, let the bread cool and slather well with mayonnaise then using the same fork you mashed the tomatoes with place a heaping helping of the canned mashed tomatoes on one slice. Now the tricky part you must place the top slice on, pick it up quickly and it is best if you eat this sandwich leaning over the kitchen sink!
Of course you can have a desert of the left over tomato juice enjoying it with a few crispy saltine crackers.

I like American cheese on them

it ain't a tomato sandwich unless it's some locally grown Alabama tomatoes.

That said I like then with mayo, bacon and lettuce on toasted whole wheat.

Where's the beef???

A matter sandwich is fresh white bread, mayo, tomato, mayo, S&P, then another slice of bread. Any thing else is just a sandwich with tomato.

I agree, but I add a few pieces of bacon on mine. That's my favorite part about summer.

Amen, brother! That will preach. Though you should toast the bread if you make it with the canned 'maters.

all of the above with a slice of vidalia onion....good stuff

Canned whole tomatoes do make a good mid winter tomato sammich. I learnt that at Auburn, from a guy from Arab.

Not without salt and pepper it ain't...

I think the S&P was for salt and pepper. You are right, though, got to have that seasoning on a tomato sandwich.