The Best Tomato Salad Recipe
Late summer always brings a personal highlight to my market visits: the arrival of the tastiest heirloom tomatoes. On one of my frequent weekly market visits, I hauled several bags of tomatoes in different shapes and colours ranging from red to yellow and green back home. The idea for this tomato salad formed in my head. Later that day, we paired it with a grilled steak from our local butcher. Still, the salad was the centrepiece that evening – I had created the perfect tomato salad that captured the essence of late summer days.
With some feta cheese, it becomes a great summer lunch, light dinner or entré. The dish's success certainly depends on the quality of the tomatoes. Don’t try it when tomatoes are out of season.
Ingredients
1kg of ripe tomatoes – ideally different heirloom varieties that come in different shapes and colours – not only for visual purposes, trust me
3-4 thick slices of sourdough bread
4 twigs of fresh basil, chopped
1 spring onion – it should have a proper bulb! You can also use red onions, but plan a bit more time for the pickling
2 tsp capers in salt
Balsamic vinegar
Good quality olive oil
Pepper & rough sea salt
Method
Chop the onion into thin slices and put in a bowl, cover with the balsamic vinegar and add some salt – let them pickle for 20 minutes or longer. Give the capers a wash to get rid of some of the salt.
Cut the sourdough bread into bite-size pieces, put into a bowl, add a generous amount of olive oil and some sea salt – mix. Roast the bread pieces in a pan over medium heat until they are crispy and start to brown. Put them back into their bowl.
Slice the tomatoes and mix them in a salad bowl. Pour away the pickling juice and add the onions. Add the capers, basil and bread. Season with some more olive oil, pepper and salt.
Serve & enjoy!
