"Light is halved like a tomato, its juice runs through the streets."
- Pablo Neruda, Ode to the Tomato
July is the reddest month. The season finally falls into its most bountiful and colorful offerings, and the tomato, sun-warmed and heavy on the vine, almost too generous, becomes the whole point of summer. In Italy, this is not a vegetable. It is a way of marking timeThe season that finally tips the farmer's market into its most bountiful and colorful offerings.
The tomato, sun-warmed and heavy on the vine, almost too generous, becomes the whole point of summer. In Italy, this is not a vegetable. It is a way of marking time. You wait all year for it, and then suddenly it is everywhere: piled in the markets, split open on the cutting board, sliced thick with nothing but a generous sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil. There is an art to this kind of eating. You let the season determine the menu. You make dishes that require little to no cooking. You choose the ripe ones, the ones that make your meals memorable for another new season of summer.
This is the whole philosophy of the Italian table, and in July it fits in the palm of your hand.
We have been waiting for the arrival of the tomato all year. The heirlooms in their odd shapes and vibrant colors, grown for flavor and never for symmetry. The tiny Sungolds, warm off the vine, gone before they reach the bowl. The San Marzano, slow-cooked into sugo until the whole kitchen smells of late August. The sweet Piccolo Pomodoro we put up in jars so the season can be spooned out long after it ends. Each one a different flavor. Each one a reason to celebrate the summer.
That is what we are featuring this month at our Store x Studio in Buckhead Village, Atlanta: an ode to the tomato. A small homage to the season's most generous fruit, and to the simple, unhurried way the Italians have always eaten it. Come find us at 288 Buckhead Avenue. The market is open. The table is set.
This Month In The Studio
The Festival of Tomatoes | July 12
1 - 4pm | 288 Buckhead Avenue, Buckhead Village
Join us at the Store x Studio for an afternoon devoted entirely to the season's most generous fruit. A tasting table of heirloom varieties, dishes built around vine-ripened tomatoes, and the simple Italian recipes we return to every summer. Come hungry, stay for the conversation, and leave with the makings of your own festa at home.
And if a summer of tomatoes leaves you wanting to get your hands in the dough, stay close. We are planning a season of pizza and pasta classes at the Store x Studio this July. Keep an eye on our Workshops, Classes & Events calendar, and come make something by hand with us.
This Month's Recipe: Whipped Ricotta and Piccolo Pomodoro Crostini
This is the kind of recipe the season calls for, and proof of how little a good tomato asks of you. Fresh ricotta whipped light and airy, seasoned with our Wild Oregano and Sage Salt, spread over garlic-rubbed toast, and finished with a spoonful of sweet Piccolo Pomodoro tomatoes and a drizzle of their olive oil marinade. Five minutes, a glass of something chilled, and the afternoon is yours. Serve it as aperitivo, as a light lunch, or as the first thing to disappear at a summer gathering.
A N O D E T O T H E T O M A T O
July Objects of Affection
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FOR THE APERITIVO TABLE:
The Italian golden hour, the simplest way. Before dinner, a few small bites and a cold glass. Everything here is ready to spoon, spread, and share.
Piccolo Pomodoro Tomato and Basil: Bite-size garden tomatoes roasted to a caramelized sweetness and packed in olive oil with basil. Lovely over our Whipped Ricotta & Piccolo Pomodoro Crostini.
Dressed Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto: Vine-ripened California sun-dried tomatoes, rich and robust, ready to give or to keep.
Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Bruschetta Spread: Deliciously chunky, the easiest appetizer there is. Spoon onto crostini or crackers, or toss through hot pasta.
Savory Tomato Jam: Summer captured in a jar, sweet and savory with a quiet undertone of Ceylon cinnamon.
A small collection for the reddest month, and for the kind of table where summer is allowed to take its time.
Shop the Ode to the Tomato Collection →
FOR THE PASTA POT
The heart of the Italian summer kitchen is a good jar of sauce and the patience to do very little to it, just simple, good food.
Pasta Arrabbiata Bundle: Everything a summer weeknight asks for, already gathered: bucatini, fiery sugo, and sweet Piccolo Pomodoro, finished with the wild oregano & sage savory salt that ties it all together.
Sugo all'Arrabbiata: Fiery and forward, San Marzano tomatoes with garlic, chili, and basil. Not too hot, just seductively so.
Passata al Pomodoro: Smooth, pure, strained tomatoes. The quiet workhorse of the kitchen, ready to become soup, sauce, or the simplest pasta in minutes.
Organic Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce: The same beloved arrabbiata, certified organic. Vine-ripened tomatoes with a gentle chili heat.
Pomodoro Pizza Sauce: Bright and simple, ready for the oven. Spoon over dough, scatter mozzarella and basil, and make a Saturday of it.
PEAK SEASON: A JULY RITUAL
Before you cook, you choose.
Go to the market this week, not with a list but with your hands. Choose the tomato that gives a little under your thumb and smells of the garden it came from. Eat the first one over the sink, warm, with salt. Save the rest for the table. The Italian summer kitchen is not complicated, it is generous: a good jar of sauce, ripe fruit, fresh basil, a salt worth finishing with. Let the season set the menu.
Then come visit us. We'll help you fill the pantry.
Buon appetito!
x Team Bella
Find Bella Cucina Store X Studio at 288 Buckhead Avenue, Buckhead Village, Atlanta. Open Monday to Sunday. Come as you are.
Stay a while.....
→ Explore this month's Objects of Affection Collection