Farmer's Market Tomato, Watermelon, Corn Salad with Whipped Lemon Ricotta

I had the pleasure of dining at chef Tyler Florence's restaurant Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco a week or so ago.  This idea was inspired from the salad I had there.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

watermelon, Persian cucumber, lemon ricotta, toasted lavash,

tomato water 

I went to the Farmer's Market today with hopes of finding the last of the summer tomatoes.  I am soooo sad when the season is over.  😭 There were no heirlooms today, but I managed just fine.  In the bag below was the lemon basil.

I was in luck and the fresh ingredients I used in this recipe today were from the market, except the watermelon, chives and ricotta cheese.  I found the corn at a stand later in the day.  He said it was picked fresh this morning and I wait every year for the Chilliwack corn, so it was going into tonight's salad.  I only found it today at the end of the season, unfortunately.

• Sprinkle of Maldon sea salt, to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 lemon, zested and one half juiced into ricotta, other half juiced over salad
• 1 cup of light (7% milk fat) ricotta cheese, whipped with immersion hand blender
• 1/2 a mini seedless watermelon, peeled and cubed
• 1 cob of fresh local Chilliwack corn (my favorite!!!), kernels stripped off
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• Drizzle of white wine vinegar, to taste
• Mix of organic tomatoes, sliced in halves or quarters (I had San Marzano, Sungold, Pink Beauty, some fancy mix and Verona), about 4 cups
• 1/2 organic red onion, sliced as thinly as I could (I soaked these in water and vinegar as they were strong!  They made me cry while slicing them)
• Fresh organic lemon basil (this was so lemony!), leaves snipped off stems and sprinkled over salad
• Fresh chives, snipped small and sprinkled over salad

I composed all the salad components into a bowl.  I mixed and drizzled with the oil, lemon and vinegar.  I seasoned with the pepper and mixed again.  

I stirred in the basil and chives at the end.  I whipped the ricotta with the zest and lemon juice. I seasoned with S&P.  OMG, this was good!  😋

I plated this with some toasted jalapeno cheddar bread that I picked up at the market.

I also served with a big dollop of the ricotta.  Finally, I finished with the Maldon salt on each plate.  I didn't use any salt earlier as it knew it would make the watermelon and tomatoes bleed all their juices out.  There was already a lot of juice in the bowl.

Wow, this was fresh!  So much flavor, so simple, so beautiful.  It couldn't have been a better dinner.  Sweet, salty, and citrus notes, and that cheese...just delicious.  Next time I might add a diced jalapeno, just to give a touch of heat.  Winner winner, salad for dinner.  A nice memory of summer and ode to the soon ending tomato season...