Years ago I posted about a new tomato I found at our local supermarket, the Bruno. The greenish-red skin gave it a brownish overall color, hence the name, that totally belied the excellent sweetness and acidity within. I've seen a few times since, but they've not become a staple where I shop and, supermarket storage being what it is, the quality has been iffy. Now all that's been changed for me by Trader Joe's whose packaged produce (loose, unpackaged stuff seems to be another story), I have to admit, I generally find underwelming--tomatoes usually have no flavor, pretty bagged lettuces rust or turn yellow immediately upon opening and taste of preservative, etc.
But though I had misgivings, such is my tomato addiction that bad tomatoes are better than none at all and I picked up a box (of five) of the Brunos when I saw them two weeks ago. Two days later I went back and bought three more boxes. Damn are these GOOD! Bright, huge and uncommonly sweet full-tomato flavor with excellent acidity and firm flesh. I've had tomatoes straight out of some people's gardens that aren't as good as these. At $3.49 for five these little winter miracles are only a little more expensive than your average hot house tomato but a zillion times beter. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!!
If you've never seen these gems before, here's a pic of cut slices that give you a good idea about the color--they're usually redder inside than they look (this one was particularly so).
We call this composed salad "Chilean Tomato Salad" because back in the '90's when I visited Santiago in January, the middle of their summer, a tomato-and-avocado salad was the ubiquitous salad that almost every restaurant offered. These two fruits have a strong affinity for each other, and in Chile they were served sliced and sprinkled with olive oil, vinegar (especially with red wine vinegar, which brings out a wine-y flavor in the toms), salt and pepper. I've been serving it at home ever since.
I've got to find it. My husband brought home a tomato for a salad two weeks ago and I told him we were delaring a moratorium on tomatoes until we can pick our own this summer. We will balance our salad greens with other fruits and vegetables until then. But, this may give us a reprieve. 