Tomato Salad

It’s not really just to suggest something as definitive as Tomato Salad. When it comes to vegetable, specially, so much of perfect ha to do with the vegetable itself. But I had perfect on the brain.

We were visiting friends up in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and I prepared quite a bit. It started with an excited hop onto the perfect Chocolate Chip Coolie movement. Then I found myself preparing dinner on Sunday night, but trying to prepare it easy.

The previous night, in the sweltering city, I’d had a beautiful side recipe at one of my favorite locality hotel, salt. It hit me as the perfect treatment for pert and spicy summer grape tomatoes.

Cut lengthwise (to representation the cross- section of their shapely forms) and mixed with a balsamic-heavy dressing and a chiffonade of basil, I prepared it hours fast of time and let it steep on the counter until dinner. Just before serving, I provided it another balsamic treatment and a fresh smidgen of basil.

Sure, you could supplement the experience with goat or feta cheese, or chopped greens. It’s a salad, there are no instructions. But this simple way of making tomatoes honors them while they’re at their top, which for most of us, is right now.

Ingredients

1 pound tomatoes

2 spring onions

1 big garlic clove

1/2 tea spoon Ras el Hanout(or ground cumin + a hint of curry powder and nutmeg)

Lemon zest (about 1/4 tea spoon)

3 table spoon olive oil

1 table spoon red wine vinegar

Fresh flat-leaf parsley

Fresh dill

Pepper

Salt

How to make Tomato Salad

Slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds. Don’t worry over a few seeds, though. I just like tomatoes and specially Tomato Salad. They’re so fresh and earthy. Finely mince the tomatoes and removal them to a large bowl. Toss the goo. It does look somewhat gross, doesn’t it? Sorry bout that. I have a cruel streak.

Finely mince the spring onions and add them to the tomatoes. Finely mince a small trick of dill. Don’t go overboard or it will become overwhelming and you really want the flavors to blend together. Do the same with a handful of flat-leaf basil. I wouldn’t use dried herbs in this Tomato Salad of I were you.

Season with a large amount of salt and black pepper. Don’t fear the pepper! It needs a bit of zing. Grab a bowl and combine 3 table spoon (extra virgin) olive oil, 1 table spoon red wine vinegar, a best garlic clove and about 1/4 to 1/2 a tea spoon lemon zest. Mixture it up and pour it in with the Tomato Salad. Combine and taste to check the seasoning. You can also replace this by 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin and a touch of curry powder.

This salad is a winner. The interests bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes. It’s refreshing and fragrant at the same time. It’s also infinitely adaptable, which is a great plus to me.