A day of promises
and a recipe for fresh or oven roasted tomatoes with fennel pollen
I wish I had more weddings to go to.
There’s much to love about this most time-honoured of traditions. There is a giddiness in the air at the best of weddings, a sprinkling of fairy dust that gives everyone and everything a special golden glow.
We merrymakers and well wishers in attendance are very lucky indeed. We’re invited to bear witness to the promises that two people make to one another. In choosing to be wed, these future partners in life declare their love, fidelity and deep belief in one another. A partnership of the highest order.
We also reconnect with far flung family; see dear friends and meet new ones; dress up and dance joyfully. But most of all we’re also given a most important gift beyond heartfelt wedding mementos and generous hospitality.
Promises made and promises kept
We too may have made such promises, declared such fidelity, felt so deeply that newly minted love. As we listen to these vows spoken with deep conviction and shining eyes, we’re given the gift of recalling our own love stories.
When we make promises of love, they’re carried on waves of optimism and hope. The messy stuff of love is waiting in the wings, much of it mundane and not especially important. How to load the dishwasher or make the bed. Morning person versus night owl. Finishing each other’s sentences—often incorrectly. Each layer of micro annoyance can turn into a big old heap of resentment that, if not mulched and planted with seeds of love and understanding, can become a steaming pile instead of a field of wildflowers.
A farmhouse wedding
Yesterday we went to a beautiful wedding north of the city. It wasn’t Positano or Bali or a chateau in France, the destinations that seem to be all the rage these days. Instead, the setting was green and rolling and serene. The barn that housed the reception had soaring beams, twinkling lights, wood floors and was filled to the brim with love and happiness. Best of all, it celebrated to joyful union of two very special people who made those promises with firm conviction and full hearts.
New love and weddings remind us to tend to the garden. The scales fall from our eyes and we turn and look, really see, that loved one we hold so dear. All the messy bits are part of the whole but not the whole story. They are part of a blooming garden that regenerates with love and care. The promises we hear at a wedding are the same ones we made with full hearts. It is up to us to keep them true.
Sungold tomatoes with fennel pollen, basil and chili
serves 4 as an appetizer
When tomatoes are on their last legs, we want to cherish them in their natural state—ripe and juicy and not at all cooked. But when those last-of-summer tomatoes are struggling a wee bit they can benefit from the help of some heat and time. Just like a good partnership.
Here are two ways to serve tomatoes in both those states, each one sharing a secret flavour bomb ingredient: fennel pollen. The first iteration, pictured above, was inspired by a fabulous starter we recently had at Ci Siamo in New York. The second method was shared by my good friend Sorya, and makes the most of those tomatoes who have seen better days. Regardless of method, it’s a good reminder that by adding a little pinch of something, we can make something good really great.
Note: Fennel pollen is expensive but a little goes a very long way. You can substitute finely ground fennel for the pollen. See below for recipe variation.
Ingredients
2 cups ripe and juicy cherry tomatoes, preferably Sungolds, or a mix of colours
The juice of one orange, strained
2 tablespoons olive oil
A handful of fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon fennel pollen, more to taste (see Note)
One small fresh red chili, cut into one inch pieces
Flaky salt
Crusty bread for serving
Halve the cherry tomatoes and place them in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Pour the orange juice mixture over the tomatoes and gently mix to combine.
Choose a shallow serving bowl and line the bottom with the basil leaves. Pour in the tomatoes and sprinkle with the fennel pollen and another pinch of salt. Place two or three pieces of chili to garnish and serve alongside crusty bread.
Variation
If your tomatoes are starting to lose their summer shine, simply roast them. Heat oven to 425F. Use whatever tomatoes you have on hand, cored and cut into thick slices. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle them with fennel pollen. When the oven reaches 425F, put the baking sheet in the oven, turn it off and leave the tomatoes overnight. In the morning you will have deeply flavoured tomatoes that can be used as a side dish, in a salad, on crusty bread or wherever your imagination leads you.
❤️