Tomatoes with Miso Dressing

It's hard to believe it's mid-August. I have so many trips and adventures planned for the fall through the winter that I'm so looking forward to but I've had to wake up and be in the moment. Summer is here right now, and it's a season I love but before I know it it'll be over. But while it's here I'm going to enjoy all the best parts of the season. Outdoor concerts and movies, baseball games, boat rides, as many beach trips as possible, exploring my city and of course enjoying the produce of summer.

Since the move it's been hard to get back to my weekly Saturday morning farmers market trip. Even if I was just picking up one little ingredient or something unusual and fun to make my week brighter, it was helpful to just walk around to see what was truly in season. So it had completely slipped my mind that I'm completely missing out on tomatoes at their peak, until I visited my favorite Izakaya where we had a gorgeous heirloom tomato salad with miso dressing.

As I so often do, I figured I could try to recreate it, and on Friday when I made a quick stop at Eataly to grab some pillow-y gnocchi to satisfy a craving and say hi to a friend, I decided to stop over in the produce section to see what's what. There I grabbed some beautiful looking heirlooms and that night I made up a miso dressing that may not have been quite as excellent as Kasadela's but was a good enough substitute. The dressing would also be excellent over a chopped cabbage salad or with some diced chicken or tofu over greens or in a wrap.

Tomatoes with Miso Dressing
1 medium-sized tomato per person, or one very large one for 2 people
2 Tbl. white miso
1 Tbl. mirin
1 clove garlic- finely minced
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. powdered mustard
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/3 c. mild flavored olive oil
Pinch of sea salt flakes
Fresh cracked pepper

1. Whisk the miso, mirin, mustard, ginger and garlic together and add in the rice wine vinegar once the miso is broken down. Drizzle in the olive and sesame oil while whisking.

2. Slice tomatoes into thin horizontal rounds and drizzle dressing over. Top with a pinch of the sea salt flakes and crack fresh pepper over.