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Taste of summer: Variations on the classic tomato sandwich

Everyone has a tomato sandwich recipe, right down to the brand of mayonnaise that should be used.

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By
Liz Biro / Coastal Review Online

Among the sacred foods you never, ever mess with down South, tomato sandwiches rank at the top. Mention any adulteration to the simple formula of mayonnaise, salt, black pepper, supermarket white bread and red, homegrown tomatoes sliced not a second before they’re ripe, and you’re bound to be looked at like you just shouted “YOU all.”

Everyone has a recipe, right down to the brand of mayonnaise that should be used. If you say Duke’s, someone else will say Hellmann’s, although no one will say Miracle Whip.

A tomato sandwich with fresh basil on a homemade wheat roll would be shunned by fans of the true tomato sandwich on white bread, no embellishments other than salt, pepper and mayonnaise, but boy does this adulterated version taste good.

Goat cheese mousse with cherry tomatoes on crostini at Revolution during Dishcrawl Durham.

Purists would never make a tomato sandwich on focaccia bread, but it’s a good base for a tomato sandwich because the bread soaks up tomato juice.

Liz Biro, writing for Coastal Review Online, offers 10 other tweaks, to the bread, the spices and even the spread, that can liven up your taste of summer.
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