Crack Tomatoes

(Also from Mary Lewis)

John Jr. doesn’t rave about various dishes unless he flips over them. At a recent Father’s Day gathering we hosted, we invited his in-laws. Mary offered to bring the now infamous Crack Tomatoes. They’re named, as you can guess, as no one can eat just one, you just want more and more…John Jr. was so concerned I wouldn’t get to try them once our crowd went thru’ the line that he made me a plate with a couple of tomatoes on it and set it aside so I’d be sure to try them! And yes, they are amazing:

Ingredients for dressing/marinade:
2/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. red wine vinegar—Pompeian is good
¼ c. chopped red onion—finely chopped (optional)
¼ clove garlic—she usually uses 1 small clove, minced
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
2 tsp. kosher salt
handful of fresh parsley, rinsed
handful of fresh chopped basil

Directions:

• Mix together and chill above ingredients.

• Thinly slice 4-5 tomatoes and layer in a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish.

• Pour marinade over tomatoes

• Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

• Set out ½ hour before serving.

Hot tip: After chopping parsley, put it on a double layer of paper towels, gather up ends so parsley’s in a ball and completely covered. Then rinse under cold water and squeeze it out. Do this ‘til paper towel starts to tear. You’ll see green water come out. Then dump it in the mix. This removes some of the bitterness. This is a trick a chef taught Mary several years ago. She does this every time she uses parsley in a recipe. It does make a difference!