Barefoot Contessa's Tomato Sandwich

Ina Garten's recipes are usually chock full of butter, oil and sugar. The dishes are also usually too fancy and time consuming for me (who has time to make a crab salad or angel food cake from scratch?) But I do love watching her show, if only to watch her waddle around her massive kitchen or hop into her shiny Mercedes for a quick trip to a gourmet grocery store before swinging by the beach for a fun-filled clam dig. Ugh. Bitch.

But she did make a tomato sandwich on one episode that looked simple and delicious. You're probably thinking...hmm...a few pieces of bland tomato between two slices of soggy tomato juice soaked bread...doesn't sound appealing to me. I was skeptical too, but it turned out really well. It's the garlic and basil in the mayo spread that makes the sandwich tasty. So, if it's a hot summer day and you want a light and refreshing sandwich, this is a good bet. I recommend using a firmer bread such as whole wheat or sourdough. The tomato juice will soak through white bread very quickly, and i hate soggy sandwiches! It's the worst.

To make the spread:


a few scoops of mayo
2 teaspoon of lemon juice
minced garlic (1 clove)
handful of chopped basil
pinch of salt








Spread the garlic basil mayo on the the bread, add the tomatoes and you're done. I bet this spread would go really well with some sliced turkey and avocado.