I tried 3 celebrity tomato sandwiches—this was the best one

If you love tomato sandwiches, you have to try this one.

I know it’s summer when the craving hits for a tomato sandwich in all its juicy glory. When heirlooms first appear at the market, all I want is the classic version: sliced tomatoes on white bread with mayo, salt, and pepper. But a few weeks into heirloom season, once my palate tires of that most basic sandwich, I’m in search of more excitement. 

Leave it to the hat trick of famous female cookbook authors—Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and Ree Drummond—to have come up with three of the best tomato sandwich recipes on the internet. I tried all three, and I have some thoughts! 

How To Make Ina Garten’s Tomato Sandwich

Ina’s Tomato Sandwich with Basil Mayonnaise is the simplest of the three—she doesn’t even toast her bread or season the tomato slices! All you’re doing is mixing store-bought mayo with basil, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, then spreading it on country bread and stacking on some sliced tomatoes.

The basil mayo, however, is highly seasoned. She asks for a teaspoon of salt for a cup of mayo, which is already plenty salty on its own. This means that there really isn’t a need to season the tomatoes, and the sandwich still ends up with a perfect balance of flavors.

My one tip? Make sure your country bread is the freshest loaf you can find. Without toasting, a day-old loaf won’t give you the pillowy softness you’re looking for in this sandwich. But also go ahead and toast your bread if it’s not freshly baked.

How To Make Martha Stewart’s Tomato Sandwich

Martha’s Heirloom Tomato Tartines with Garlic-Parsley Aioli sound like a fancy step up, but they don’t require a whole lot more effort than Ina’s sandwich. The aioli is really just another jazzed -up store-bought mayo, this time with Dijon, garlic, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and lemon zest and juice. 

Martha’s lemon juice-to-mayo ratio is much higher than Ina’s, so you end up with a looser, spoonable sauce that melts a little bit into the hot, toasted brioche. The sweetness of the brioche contrasts with the tangy, lemony aioli, and due to the bread’s pillowy texture, the sandwich practically melts in your mouth. It’s very easy to eat a whole tartine in a matter of a minute or two. Don’t ask me how I know. 

Of course,  Martha also recommends topping the tartine with a pile of pea shoots or sprouts if you have them on hand. I sprinkled on a mix of microgreens, which added a little freshness and looked pretty, too.

How To Make Ree Drummond’s Tomato Sandwich

The final sandwich I tried was Ree’s aptly named “Tomato Sandwich.” It may have the simplest name of the three, but it’s actually the most complicated to make, and also the biggest flavor bomb. You start by blending up a batch of her Best Ever Pesto, a bright and intense combination of fresh basil, oregano, Pecorino, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice and zest, and salt and pepper. 

The next step to Ree’s sandwich is a leveled-up toasting method. She coats slices of sourdough bread generously with butter, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper, then places them in a skillet over medium heat for a minute or two. The cheese fuses into the bread to form a salty, savory, crunchy crust.

Finally, you spread the pesto onto the untoasted sides of the bread, layer on and season the tomatoes, and add a few leaves of tender butter lettuce. While this sandwich is undoubtedly delicious, all of that pesto, butter, and cheese completely overtake the flavor of the tomatoes. If all you can find are some average supermarket tomatoes, this may actually be an advantage. 

The Winner: Ina Garten’s Tomato Sandwich with Basil Mayonnaise

Overall, for ease of preparation, cohesive flavors, and highlighting the beautiful heirloom tomatoes, I’d say Ina wins this one handily. Every sandwich was great in its own way, though, and worth trying if you’re a fan of this summer staple.

Read the original article on Simply Recipes