5 Tasty & Creative Local Heirloom Tomato Recipes

Updated Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Heirloom tomatoes are tomatoes that have been grown without crossbreeding for more than 40 years. Whew! That’s a long time. This is why heirloom tomatoes are some of the most popular produce items here at Farmview Market. Here are some wholesome and delicious recipes, featuring our favorite heirlooms, that’ll have you running to Farmview to grab some!

Heirloom fruits and vegetables are cultivated through open pollination, which means the crops are pollinated naturally, using insects and wind to fuel the future generations. This also ensures that offspring produce seeds that resemble the original parent plant. 

Another characteristic trait of heirlooms is the variation of bright, vibrant colors. In addition to the bold saturation of color, heirlooms are also said to have high quality and amazing flavor, sometimes regarded as having a more “authentic” taste. 

Heirloom tomatoes are available in an assortment of shapes and colors, ranging from green, yellow, purple, and orange, to the traditional bright red. The succulent, true-to-taste flavor of heirloom tomatoes outweigh many hybrid varieties. That’s why we feature them in these 5, simple-yet-creative recipes. Let us know how they work for you!

Margherita Pizza (Recipe via Sally's Baking Addiction)

Ingredients:

• 1 prepared pizza crust
• 1 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, roasted & finely chopped
• ¼ cup of pizza sauce (your preference) 
• 8 oz. of mozzarella cheese, sliced into ½ inch thick pieces
• 2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced 
• Handful of fresh basil
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Prepare your pizza dough on a pan or pizza stone. Preheat the oven to the temperature recommended. To prevent from making the pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. 
• Mix the olive oil and chopped garlic together in a small dish. After brushing your crust with oil, wait 15 minutes, and spread olive oil & garlic mixture on top of the crust. Top with pizza sauce, then mozzarella cheese slices, then your heirloom tomato slices. 
• Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbling. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil and pepper. 
• Bon appetit!

Heirloom Caprese Salad (Recipe via The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients: 

• 1 ½ cups of balsamic vinegar 
• 1 cup of olive oil
• 5 heirloom tomatoes
• 5 large mozzarella balls 
• Salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions: 

• Add balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-to-low heat, until you reach a gentle boil. Allow the vinegar to reduce for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat when it becomes a thick, but pourable, glaze. 
• Cut the tomatoes into slightly thick slices. Repeat with the mozzarella. 
• Lay alternating slices of tomatoes and mozzarella on a serving dish. Tuck a basil leaf underneath each individual slice. 
• Drizzle olive oil over the entire dish. 
• Drizzle the reduced balsamic vinegar over the dish. 
• Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. 
• Serve!

Heirloom Tomato BLT with Balsamic Mayo (Recipe via The Noshery)

Ingredients: 

• 4 to 6 slices of Farmview select thick-cut bacon
• 4 slices of sourdough bread
• 4 tbsp. Of butter
• 1 egg
• 1 heirloom tomato, sliced
• 1 cup of arugula 
• ½ a lime 
• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle
• Salt to taste

To make the mayo: 

• ½ a cup of mayonnaise 
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tsp. Of balsamic reduction

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a pan with parchment paper. Lay bacon on the prepared sheet pan and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy.
• In a small bowl, combine the mayo ingredients and allow the flavors to blend together. 
• Heat a large skillet, or griddle, over medium heat. Depending on the size of your skillet or griddle, you may need to work in batches. 
• Melt 1 tbsp. Of butter for each slice of bread, but don’t add all of it at once. Also, be careful not to let the skillet get too hot or else your butter will brown. 
• While toasting your bread, heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, spray with non-stick spray, and slowly fry an egg yolk until it has set. 
• In a small bowl, toss arugula with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lime, then season with salt. 
• Spread your sourdough with the balsamic mayo. 
• Build your BLT by assembling the bread, bacon, tomato, arugula, egg, and bread.

Heirloom Garden Gazpacho (Recipe via Sunset Magazine)

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. of ripe heirloom tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3-4 cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and chopped
• ⅓ a cup of green onion, chopped
• ⅓ a cup of cilantro, chopped
• ⅓ a cup of basil, chopped
• 1 tsp. Of fresh lemon juice

Directions:

• Process everything (except the cucumbers) in a food processor lightly until the soup has reached your desired consistency. 
• Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow flavors to develop as your vegetables chill. This recipe can be chilled for up to two days. 
• Garnish with chopped cucumbers and add more salt to taste. 
• Enjoy!

Pro-tip: For a real heirloom treat, try and find heirloom cucumbers as well!

Heirloom Tomato Confit (Recipe via Martha Stewart)

Ingredients: 

• 12 ripe heirloom tomatoes, washed & cored (about 3 ½ lbs) 
• 3 fresh sprigs of basil 
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 3 tbsp.)
• ½ a cup of extra-virgin olive oil 
• Kosher salt

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat. Prepare an ice bath. 
• Score a shallow x in the bottom of each tomato with a knife. Then, place in the boiling water for about 10 seconds. 
• With a slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes immediately into the ice bath. 
• When cool, remove and peel tomatoes by gripping the skin at the bottom of the scored x. 
• Combine tomatoes (cored sides down), basil, and garlic in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle generously with salt and drizzle with oil. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes. 
• Let cool completely. Transfer tomatoes with the juice into quart-size mason jars, leaving ½ an inch of headspace. Pair with your favorite fish or meat dish, or freeze until use – up to one year.