Heirloom Tomato and Balsamic Reduction

There's just something about biting into an heirloom tomato that makes it special, compared to a normal tomato. When you are making a salad or an appetizer where tomato is the focal point, I recommend looking for the heirlooms.There are a few different types of heirloom tomatoes...The kind in this post is a cross-pollination hybrid. Yes, we can cross-breed tomatoes just like we do dogs ... use two different parents! That's how we get the marble colors, stripes, and multi-colored tomatoes.

I used a few ingredients to create this masterpiece. First, I found an amazing extra large tomato, but you can find perfectly good heirlooms smaller in sizes. With that, you just need some olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper, balsamic, honey, sugar, and some really darn good cheese. The cheese I picked here is called Roncal - a creamy sheep's milk cheese from Spain. It was a perfect pick to pair with the tomato and balsamic reduction...not too mild, but not too stinky. This simple appetizer was so fantastic, easy to prepare and looked beautiful!

Balsamic Reduction: For 1 Large Tomato

• 4 tbs Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp Honey (I used Lavender Honey to give an extra kick)
• 1/2 tsp Sugar

Tomato Salad:

• Extra Large Heirloom Tomato, thickly sliced
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Roncal Cheese, sliced

For the balsamic reduction - heat the balsamic in a small pot until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and add the honey and sugar. Mix until it is fully dissolved. Once the balsamic cooks down and thickens remove from heat. That's it!

Slice the tomato like so.

To plate, first drizzle a little olive oil on the bottom of your plate. Add the largest layer of tomato slices on the bottom base. Add another drizzle of oil on top and some sea salt and cracked pepper. Repeat layers, largest to smallest. Drizzle a little of the balsamic reduction on the side for display, and put the remainder in a small dish for additional use. Add the Roncal on the side.

Dip a piece of tomato and cheese into the balsamic reduction - and enjoy!