Tomato Compote: Capturing Summer in a Jar
When I think of summer, I invariably think of tomatoes. One of my core childhood memories growing up in Spain is running home from a day at the beach, delightfully exhausted but dehydrated, and immediately reaching for a tomato straight off the vine in our generous neighbors' garden for a quick snack before dinner. Then the joy of biting into it, so juicy and sweet and still warm from the sun! Of course, as an adult, this makes me a tomato snob because I have yet to find tomatoes at a regular grocery store that taste like summer in Spain. However, when I do find delicious, sun-ripened tomatoes at my local farmers market , I buy as many as I estimate I can eat in the span of a few days. Yet knowing summer's almost over and the tomato crops are soon to dwindle at the farmer's market, this week I bought a few more than usual just to make a batch of compote. My tomato compote is sweet and savory. It captures summer in a jar, with a touch of heat from red pepper flakes, a nod
