Heirloom Tomato Sandwiches

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2

Best known for his popular New Orleans sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf, which Bon Appétit magazine named America’s Best New Restaurant, Mason Hereford is also a 2020 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef. Hereford developed his passion for creative cooking with restaurant jobs around the country, including San Francisco and Charleston. He later moved back to New Orleans, where Creole tomatoes, which are grown in the rich soil in coastal Louisiana, are a staple of summertime cooking. If Creole tomatoes aren’t available in your area, look for the ripest, juiciest, most flavorful heirloom tomatoes you can find for this simple but sublime sandwich that tastes of summer.

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices white bread, each about 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick
  • 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) (2 oz./60 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 large ripe, juicy heirloom tomatoes, about 1 lb. (500 g) total
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) Duke’s mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) roasted salted sunflower seeds
  • About 10 fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup (1/3 oz./10 g) picked fresh dill
  • 1/2 lemon

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Directions:

Heat a large nonstick fry pan over medium heat until it’s hot. Spread both sides of the bread slices with the butter. Place the slices in the pan and toast, turning once, until the bread is golden brown on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Core the tomatoes. Using a serrated knife, cut the tomatoes into slices 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the mayonnaise on one side of 2 bread slices, dividing evenly, then sprinkle the sunflower seeds over the mayonnaise. Stack the tomato slices on the seeds and top with the basil and dill. Squeeze the juice from the lemon half over the top. Cover each sandwich with one of the remaining bread slices. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve immediately. Serves 2.

Recipe courtesy of Mason Hereford, Chef at Turkey and the Wolf and Molly’s Rise and Shine

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