My Best Tomato Sandwich
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Author Notes: 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.
It’s nothing fancy, but over the years I tweaked until I came up with the tomato sandwich that best suits my taste: two pieces of whole grain toast spread with mayo and stuffed as generously as possible with slices of ripe tomato, plus some salt and coarsely ground black pepper. - merrill
Makes 1 sandwich
- 2 slices dense wholegrain bread with lots of seeds (my favorite is Eli’s Health Loaf)
- 1 medium beefsteak tomato (New Jersey or otherwise), perfectly ripe
- Mayonnaise
- Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
- Toast the bread to your liking (I like mine nice and crispy, but I know some prefer a lighter toast). Let it cool for a bit while you core and cut the tomato into 1/8-inch slices. Slather one side of each piece of toast with about a teaspoon and a half of mayonnaise (more or less if you like) and layer as many of the tomato slices as you can on top of one one piece of toast. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Top with the other piece of toast, cut in half (vertically or diagonally – the choice is yours, so go wild). Eat immediately, with a side of napkins to catch the tomato/mayo juices that will undoubtedly dribble down your chin.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
Tags: Sandwiches, Summer, tomatoes
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about 1 month ago allstar379
My mom grows her own tomatoes in our backyard, and I can't wait to try this recipe out when they bloom!
8 months ago Dee G
Our heirlooms have been outrageously good this year. Sometimes we can't even bring ourselves to distract from their flavor with anything other than salt and pepper. Every time I think I'm going to make a caprese salad or embellish our tomato sandwiches with basil mayo, I give it to the old standby like your "Best Tomato Sandwich". Simple works great!
8 months ago mamajo
This is great but please try our version!
We grow our own heirloom tomatoes (Brandywine Reds are our very fave.)
We like light rye bread,lightly toasted.
Ranch dressing or mayo. (on both slices of bread)
Cucumber,thinly sliced, when available. (takes the place of lettuce.)
3 or 4 slices of Crispy bacon
then ,of course, a big ,thick slab of juicy,ripe tomato.
Season with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper!
YUMMY
If you ever get the chance to try a nice,home-grown Brandywine tomato,you will be a convert!
They have such a smooth taste,no bitter aftertaste! Around here though,they are almost gone for the season. :(
8 months ago Eden Weissman
My mother used to make me the same sandwich with dark pumpernickel bread and sweet butter.
10 months ago Indrani
An English friend of mine showed me a version of exactly this sandwich which probably sounds terrible to Americans but is totally amazing: It's exactly the same, except that after toasting the wholewheat bread, spread some butter on one side of each, then a thin layer of Marmite. Then a thin layer of mayo on top of one Marmite-d side, sliced tomatoes on top of that, and top it with the other Marmite-d slice, face down. It adds some extra salty umami-ness.
10 months ago Galapagos
My growing up favorite variant of this is peanut butter and tomato. I prefer rye toast for it but any good bread will do. The variant is:
Substitute butter for the mayonnaise.
Slather with your favorite peanut butter (I grew up with Peter Pan smooth).
Place on the straight from the garden sliced tomatoes.
Salt and pepper.
Eat while warm.
It's not worth making with anything but the best home grown tomatoes. Don't knock it till you try it. Anyone whom I've managed to get to taste this agrees it's a heavenly combo.
With acknowledgements to Mrs. Alvina Smith, our next door neighbor who introduced the Carey family to this sandwich and who taught me the love of gardening as a small child.
10 months ago Muse
I wait all year for Beefsteak tomatoes to ripen here in New Jersey...OMG I could live on these sandwiches until all the tomatoes are gone!
11 months ago ihaventpoisonedyouyet
Wonderful idea for a summer breakfast. And I have to say that jamming a handful of arugula on top doesn't hurt at all.
over 1 year ago Yumster
Ok, so I think tomato sandwiches are best when you are hungry, which for me means I use whatever I have in the cupboard. After reading so many of the responses to this recipe, I had to head to the kitchen. Here is what I just finished eating... yum! Lightly toasted wheat bread, a small wedge of soft cheese spread on each slice as it comes out of the toaster. Then a nice medium sized ripe tomato sliced into thin 1/8" slices (don't worry I use all the slices!). Once the tomato slices are stacked on the cheese covered toast, I drizzle a very small amount of extra virgin olive oil on them and add a bit of salt and pepper. Then for the finishing touch I add a layer of lightly crushed nacho cheese Doritos chips (Heresy, but so good!). It was tasty.... burrrrp!
over 1 year ago kathydonovanmohney
This was also a "summer time" favorite from my childhood in Connecticut! My dad would bring in plump red tomato's still warm from the august sun and make us tomato sandwich's. He would make them on Wonder Bread toasted with Hellman's mayonnaise and a little salt & pepper. Nothing fancy, but to me it seemed like a gourmet meal! If we wanted to get fancy he would add a little Velveeta cheese (from the big brick). 50 years later, I'm still making them (just with a healthier bread) Hellman's mayonnaise and a little S & P. I am lucky enough to have married a guy who is just as in love with these as I am and is very content to consider a tomato sandwich dinner! Life is great with summer time tomato's!
over 1 year ago ctgal
This was the sandwich of my summers in Connecticut when I was a child. Except for the bread, which was Wonder Bread. Mayonnaise and tomatoes on white bread...oh my!! Now I've converted to many grain wheat breads as in your photo. And don't ignore a fried egg on the same bread, toasted, w/ mayonnaise and a slice from a wonderful summer tomato. And, the other night, as the tomato supply from our CSA is waning, we indulged ourselves and had a B.L.T. with mayo on toasted wheat bread w/ a soft yolk fried egg in it too. I saw that somewhere and it stayed with me, but I was too embarrassed to make it. But I succumbed and it was divine!! Better than ice cream! I love your photos too. They make me want to pull the food off the page and eat it! Thank you so so much!
over 1 year ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
You're so welcome! And thank you for sharing your memories and great sandwich ideas.
almost 2 years ago Kamila's Kitchen
Kamila was my grandmother. She passed away in 1982. She made the best biscuits! Southern of course! She and my grandfather were farmers. Nothing in the summer time except right up there with the tomato sandwich was a good old "mater biscuit" Just biscuits made from scratch, slice of a summer garden tomato and salt and pepper! Soooo good!
almost 2 years ago Dflip
My favourite tomato sandwich is two slices of a very good sourdough bread toasted and buttered, with sliced fresh tomatoes from the garden, several slices of 4 year old white cheddar cheese, freshly cracked pepper and a sprinkling of Maldon salt. The salt pops in your mouth like the carbonation from a soft drink. The tomatoes don't cost a lot, so I make up for it with a great cheddar cheese.
For the decadent version I add a couple of slices of hickory smoked bacon and some pieces of cooked salmon steak.
almost 2 years ago amgracis
my favorite tomato sandwich is sourdough bread, spread w/ cream cheese, topped with sliced tomatoes (whatever looks best at the store), and sliced cucumbers (peeled or not, whichever you prefer), salt & pepper. Delish!
almost 2 years ago weekend at bearnaise
when i was pregnant with my son in the summer of 2009 my husband would make me two tomato sandwiches every morning and i'd eat them for breakfast - i craved them like crazy. i like them with cheddar cheese and the more mayo the better!
almost 2 years ago iCookInsteadofDate
It's been too hot to bother going back out to get beefsteaks or even romas...But I had a pack of cherry tomatoes...diced them up...some olive oil mayo...salt, pepper & a little bit of thyme.... incorporating the mayo together with the diced tomatoes made for a really sweet and very refreshing blend! Try it! I devoured my sandwich so fast, I'm afraid I want another!!!!
In the meanwhile I have some ideas with some leftovers poppy seed dressing or the gorgonzola I haven't finished! Enjoy!
over 1 year ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Love the idea of folding the mayo in with the chopped tomatoes - will have to try it!
almost 2 years ago karina23
i just tried this simple yet amazing recipe, and my daughter and I simply fell in love with the taste! The city i live in in the Philippines does not sell those big red juicy tomatoes (i dont know what its called) but we have an abundance of the roma tomatoes around, so that is what I used. It was as delicious as the others described it in their comments. Oh, my daughter added grated parmesan cheese as well. Thanks for the recipe!
over 1 year ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
So glad you liked it!
almost 2 years ago airhydro
Super good sandwich light, tasty and healthy........um , um, good...........
almost 2 years ago Let Them Eat Cake
Add some fresh basil leaves.....Yumm
almost 2 years ago maggie'syumkitchen
I love all these delicious variations on tomatoe sandwiches. I often add garden cucumber slices for a nice satisfying crunch, with plenty of cracked pepper and kosher salt. A great fresh tasting combination of summer goodness
over 1 year ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Yum. Great texture contrast with the cukes.