A good Tomato Salad goes with almost anything don't you think? Fish, meat all stripy and charred from the bbq, new potatoes still warm and slicked with mayonnaise and chives. Almost anything faintly summery in fact. Go as heavy on the onions as you dare.
It is a salad of simple and few ingredients and as long as they all are good quality it really does burst with flavour.
I also love that it is virtually mix and wallop it on the table. I can’t be doing with anything more.
Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full printable recipe card.
So What's In My Favourite Tomato Salad?
Tomatoes - THE most important ingredient here. They need to be ripe and the best that you can get. The salad is won and lost on their flavour. They are the star of the show and no matter how well you season, if they have no real tomatoeyness you won't be able to upcycle. Just saying. I find that those sold on the vine are usually the tastier ones.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Extra if you have it as it's really flavourful but standard olive oil will work well.
Balsamic Vinegar – The deeper and more mellow the vinegar the better. Normal malt vinegar won’t do it. So any balsamic is perfect. If you only have standard vinegar then add a tsp of sugar to 1 tbsp of vinegar. You could also add any sweet substitute in those quantities, e.g maple syrup, honey.
Basil – fresh basil leaves are best but dried basil scattered in there is an option.
Red Onion - medium sized. Red onion is generally sweeter but any other onion or shallots is a perfectly good option too.
Mozzarella – I love to use the small little balls here. Mozzarella Pearls. They lend themselves perfectly to rolling about in there free form, plus I don’t have to worry about slicing the bigger ones all the same thicknesses for appearance sake. I always mess it up. However it all tastes the same so if that’s what you’ve got, it won’t make a jot of difference on the taste front.
Salt – I’m a right fussy bird here. I have a real thing for sea salt crystals like Maldon where tomatoes are concerned. They do something to tomatoes that is pure alchemy. So that is my strong suggestion here. Otherwise use half of the specified salt amount if using table salt as it is stronger than sea salt crystals.
Pepper – ground black pepper. It’s best if you’ve ground it yourself with a pepper grinder.
Red Onion – this is optional. I like a little titchy bit of zap but I do like to soak them first in iced water to take the sting out of them. I’m not looking to overpower the mozzarella. You can use shallots or any other onion as substitutes but red onions are generally sweeter.
Scroll down for the complete recipe with exact ingredients at the bottom of this page.
Tomato Salad Recipe Steps
- Begin by chopping your tomatoes into suitable sizes. I have used cherry tomatoes here so have chopped them in half.
- Put them in a large sized bowl and sprinkle with salt and give them a gentle toss so that the salt gets evenly spread through the tomato halves. Set aside for about 15 minutes. This really gets the tomato flavours excited. If they were on a night out think dancing on top of the tables.
- Finely slice the red onion into half moons. Soak them in a small bowl of iced water.
- Meanwhile put all the dressing ingredients into a little jug or bowl and whisk together.
- Finely chop the basil.
- Drain your mozzarella and chop into suitable size pieces if you have the traditional sized balls.....
- Add the basil and mozzarella to the tomatoes and tip in the dressing. Toss the lot around together so that the dressing, basil and cheese is evenly distributed.
- Either cover and serve at room temperature when required or transfer to a fancy pants serving dish if you would prefer.
- The salt does tend to bring a lot of the tomato juices out so don't be alarmed as they pool a little in the bottom of the dish.
How Do I Serve This Salad?
Always at room temperature. In fact I NEVER keep my tomatoes in the fridge. It affects the flavour and tomatoes just don't like to get chilly.
I serve it as a side alongside bbq meats, fish or anything in between. It's really, really good with sliced ham from my Slow Cooker Gammon or Slow Cooker Roast Chicken.
I love it with my Cheese and Onion Quiche or Quiche Lorraine too.
It's the kind of salad, just like Potato Salad, that lends itself to rubbing along with just about anything. I often eat it for a light lunch and it makes me feel super spoilt and a bit sophisticated, not that there's anything wrong at all with a cheese and pickle sandwich.
If you like these ruby beauties then you may like these other sexy salads and cold sides.
Easy Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 450 grams tomatoes cherry or similar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 400 grams mozzarella pearls
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ medium red onion
- 10 basil leaves
- 2 tsp sea salt crystals half the salt if using table salt
Instructions
- Begin by chopping your 450 grams tomatoes into suitable sizes. I have used cherry tomatoes here so have chopped them in half.Finely slice the red onion into half moons. Soak them in a small bowl of iced water.
- Put them in a large sized bowl and sprinkle with salt and give them a gentle toss so that the salt gets evenly spread through the tomato halves. Set aside for about 15 minutes. This really accentuates the tomato flavour.
- Meanwhile put 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp of sea salt and a 5 grinds of black pepper into a little jug or bowl and whisk together.
- Finely chop the basil.
- Drain your mozzarella and chop into suitable size pieces if you have the traditional sized balls.....titter
- Add the basil and mozzarella to the tomatoes and tip in the dressing. Toss the lot around together so that the dressing, basil and cheese is evenly distributed.
- Either cover and serve at room temperature when required or transfer to a fancy pants serving dish if you would prefer.
- Apply To Italian (for the afternoon) Face
Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.
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