Difficulty Level Easy

I realize that tomatoes are hardly a new vegetable for people, but have you ever tried the heirloom tomatoes) that are making a resurgence at farmers' markets? They come in all colours, shapes and sizes and many don't look like tomatoes at all. Some of them are beautiful to look at and some of them are downright homely, but they have amazing flavours. Some of them are so sweet you can pop them in your mouth as though they were strawberries.

I will admit that they tend to be more expensive than the regular varieties of tomatoes, but they are worth it. Of course, one of the reasons for the expense is that growers are trying to revive varieties that had almost died out in the quest for cheap, sturdy tomatoes that could be shipped around more easily. You know the kind. Thick skinned, pale tasteless produce that don't deserve the name tomato. I have occasionally seen them in my local grocery, but you can usually find them at farmers' markets, and quite often they are organic, so you know you won't find any powdery residue from insecticide on them.

I usually use heirloom tomatoes in salads or sandwiches, or sometimes I just drizzle them with olive oil and add some basil and a bit of salt and pepper. This little dish just took a few minutes to put together and was quite a tasty little side dish. You could easily add some chickpeas. if you wanted some protein. Some nuts or raisins would be a nice addition to. I didn't happen to have any of those things on hand, so I went with what was in the pantry. I served it on baby spinach leaves, but arugula or leaf lettuce would work.

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