One More for the HT Files, But Wait... It's Already Vegan!

For Hezbollah Tofu

Do you believe it? I wonder how awkward it was for Anthony Bourdain to actually publish a vegan recipe here and there in his book. I'm thinking it must have been traumatic and probably gave him more nightmares than all his days of butchering. Does he have other vegan skeletons in his closet or is this recipe is just a fluke? The book gives the original restaurant version and also "Tante Jeanne's" variation. The recipe below is a combination of both.

Tomato Salad
Serves 6

2 # heirloom tomatoes, cored, cut into wedges and deseeded
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp good olive oil (recipe calls for 1/4 cup, but you don't need all that)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
10-15 leaves fresh basil, torn

Place the tomato wedges in a colander and sprinkle with 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1/2 Tbsp freshly ground pepper. Let sit for 30 minutes, then brush off and remove from colander.

Mix crushed garlic, oil and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk together. Add tomatoes, shallots and basil leaves. Toss with dressing and adjust seasonings.

Bourdain's Book Notes:
This salad breaks down after a couple of hours so he doesn't suggest making it ahead of time.

Rather than actually add crushed garlic to the dressing, he just wipes the bowl with a slightly crushed garlic clove. I think that's wimpy and rather have it in the dressing.

The original recipe calls for 1 red onion (no shallots) sliced thinly and salted for 1/2 an hour just like the tomatoes. Squeeze out excess water before using.

"Tante Jeanne" is the one who uses shallots. She also uses red wine vinegar instead of balsamic and parsley instead of basil. Tomatoes and basil are a match made in heaven and I'm not about to break up that marriage. However, they might be open to inviting parsley to join them next time if I happen to have some.

Now from a gourmet salad to a diner Teese Seitan Steak Sub. This was today's lunch, shown topless and smothered with mushrooms, peppers and onions. Awesome!

Tonight's Dinner: probably Pad Thai.