When I first laid eyes on the Barefoot Contessa's tomato sandwich recipe, I had a feeling I'd found my new go-to summer lunch.
I've had tomato sandwiches before, typically with the same straightforward ingredients: two slices of bread, some tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
Ina Garten's recipe, however, kicks the sandwich up a notch with a mayo that has a large cast of flavors, including basil. As someone who loves flavored mayo, I was immediately excited to try the recipe — and I wasn't disappointed.
After buying tomatoes and bread, I prepped and measured all of the basil mayo ingredients.
The basil mayo requires seven ingredients total: mayonnaise, kosher salt, black pepper, basil leaves, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.
I kicked things off by measuring out a cup of my go-to mayonnaise and putting it into a bowl.
Next, I chopped the basil. The recipe calls for 10 to 15 basil leaves; I love the flavor, so I chopped 15.
I also measured out and added the kosher salt, olive oil, ground black pepper, lemon juice, and minced garlic.
The spread came together quickly.
I used a small whisk to mix everything up in a bowl.
A fork would also probably work here, but the mayonnaise was so thick that I found a whisk much easier to use.
Then, I slathered the bread with basil mayo before adding slices of heirloom tomatoes.
After slicing the tomatoes, it was time to assemble the sandwich.
The result was amazing: The combination of the juicy, sweet tomatoes and the herby basil mayo made for a refreshing yet filling (and deeply savory) meal.
I chose to eat the sandwich with some seasoned waffle fries. Since Garten's recipe makes a ton of basil mayo, I used the remainder as a dipping sauce.
The basil mayo was the real star of the show.
The basil mayo definitely stood out to me, and I already can't wait to make it again.
I enjoyed it as a dipping sauce for my fries, but it definitely worked better as a sandwich add-on. On the sandwich, the salty flavor perfectly complemented the juicy tomatoes.
When paired with fries, though, the saltiness was a little overwhelming. In the future, if I make it as a dipping sauce, I'll dial back the kosher salt.
In the meantime, though, I plan to try out this versatile condiment on other dishes, too — including BLTs, turkey sandwiches, and even Italian subs.
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Anita George is a journalist who has been writing about food and technology since 2013. She enjoys cooking, baking, and learning about different kinds of cuisine. She has written for Paste Magazine, Lifewire, and Digital Trends. You can read more of her work on her website, anitamgeorge.com.
