Brown Butter Tomatoes
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Author Notes: It happened at a picnic, while talking about whether or not a salad of tomatoes, peaches, and mozzarella, was a new idea. Peter said it was. I said not. Which is the usual childish direction our conversations go -- "No-ooo!" "Yes!" "Never!" "Wrong!" Peter wisely changed the subject to an even newer tomato concept he'd recently encountered at Lulu & Po: sliced fresh tomatoes, dappled with brown butter, salt, and pepper. He had me (for once!) -- I'd never heard of brown butter tomatoes.
How can you resist something called Brown Butter Tomatoes? I had to try them, which I did at our last photo shoot. You won't believe how easy they are, how close you are to summertime bliss just reading these words. Start walking to your kitchen. Slice a tomato. Beefsteak is best. One-third inch thick slices -- half-inch is too thick, one-quarter is too thin. Get out your ruler if you must. Overlap the slices on the plate you'll devour them from. Brown the butter and grab a spoon. As you spoon the butter over the tomatoes, listen: they sizzle! Shower them with a flaky salt, grind over some pepper. And have at them. As Merrill noted, the tomatoes and butter together are mysteriously, deliciously reminiscent of lobster with melted butter. The richness. The sweet, tender flesh. The exquisite burst of summer. - amanda
Serves 4 as a first course, 2 as a light lunch
- 2 large or 3 small ripe beefsteak tomatoes
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Flaky sea salt, like Maldon
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- Baguette or other country bread, for mopping up the butter
- Core the tomatoes and slice them 1/3-inch thick. Divide the tomato slices among 4 plates, overlapping the slices just a little.
- Place the butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium low heat. Let the butter melt completely. It will begin bubbling. Let the butter simmer away, cooking off its water, until it begins to smell nutty and brown. Swirl the pan every 30 seconds or so. When the butter turns the color of a hazelnut, remove it from the heat. Use a soup spoon to ladle it over the tomatoes. They'll sizzle! You want to dress the tomatoes with the butter as if you were pouring ganache over a cake -- be generous!
- Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, then rush the plates to the table so everyone can taste the tomatoes while the butter is hot! Mop up the butter and tomato juices with good bread. Toast to summer!
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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8 months ago MaureenOnTheCape
So often I see a recipe and the combinations are not much of a surprise. Not this. Who ever would have thought of combining hot, browned butter, with cool, fresh tomato slices? Not I. Not in a hundred years. It is intoxicating. And don't think of the bread as an after thought. It is as necessary to complete the dish as the tomatoes. I don't eat butter much anymore, but the light lunch portion for two people still only adds 300 calories of butter to the meal. The tomatoes add nothing and the bread, well. we all know about bread. Just go easy. Thank you Amanda!
8 months ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
What a sweet message -- thank you! I made this again this weekend, as a first course before paella. Figured it was my last shot at the tomatoes this season.
9 months ago walkie74
...wow. This turned out *way* better than I expected. In fact, this is the first time I've ever figured out what brown butter is supposed to taste like--nutty, flavorful, with an added kick from the salt and pepper. (OK, maybe the seasoned salt helped too.) Great recipe!
9 months ago Dina Moore-Tzouris
just made this for dinner on the patio with our neighbors. 4 tomatoes, double recipe, completely wiped out. one of those "why didn't i think of that?" recipes. nutty, buttery, fruity deliciousness. a perfect way to simply wow your friends.