Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Mixed Tomato Salad

Andrew is back hosting this edition of Waiter, There's something in My... and selected the theme of Seasonal Salad.

Since in this part of the world we're still in summer I'm taking my inspiration from this colourful basket of tomatoes fresh from the farmers market

tomatoes

I don't remember all the names of the different varieties I've got here but the most striking surely is this - the Green Zebra tomato.

green zebra tomato

My philosophy with produce as good as this is to just keep it simple - the different varieties will provide all the interest you need and I'll just be adding fresh basil and a basic vinaigrette made with lemon-infused olive oil and white wine vinegar.

mixed tomato salad

Mixed Tomato Salad

variety of tomatoes
fresh basil leaves
lemon-infused olive oil
extra virgin olive oil
white wine vinegar
freshly ground sea salt flakes
freshly ground pepper

Besides using the various varieties of tomatoes, I also cut each variety a little differently according to their size, taste and texture to provide another point of interest.

Make the vinaigrette:
I normally use a ratio of 4 parts oil to 1 part vinegar - in this case I am using 3 parts extra virgin olive oil, 1 part lemon-infused olive oil and 1 part white wine vinegar. I whisk them together with a little salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the salad:
Place the tomatoes into a bowl and sprinkle over with ripped basil leaves and a little of the vinaigrette. Toss gently to amalgamate and then arrange on your serving platter.

Finish with a little ground pepper and salt if desired and a garnish of basil leaves.

mixed tomato salad

The many colours of summer in an alluring salad that just bursts with freshness.

11 comments

  1. I'm always envious of your access to fantastic produce. :-P

    I also wanted to say that I really admire your sense of aesthetics when it comes to putting these dishes together--no matter how "simple" the dish, it always looks like a meticulously prepared gourmet serving, and this dish certainly doesn't disappoint!

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  2. Those are some gorgeously pretty tomatoes, Haalo! Our tomato season doesn't begin until July/August or so, so I'm very envious :)

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  3. Gorgeous pictures! It is still too early for us to get decent produce. How does the zebra tomato taste?

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  4. That is lovely! I especially love those green zebra tomatoes. Don't think I have ever seen them before!

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  5. Gorgeous. I want to grow those Green Zebra tomatoes every year but I never seem to find the plants at the garden store.

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  6. stunning:) can i ask you dear haalo if all these different tomatoes taste, well, tomato-y? are they GM?

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  7. Thanks Mike - oh I think my aesthetic styling is minimalistic at most, it's the KISS principle at work - remove the clutter, just show me the food!

    Thanks Pille - by then I'll be in winter and oogling all the lovely produce from the other side of the world.

    Thanks Ginny - it tastes pretty much like a tomato should, low acid but with lots of flavour, quite juicy and fleshy. I'd eat it regardless of its appearance.

    Thanks Gretchen!

    Thanks Kalyn - hopefully this year you'll find some, they are really tasty tomatoes.

    Hi Heart - they have a lot of tomato flavour. The issue of GM is interesting, these are not a product of what some might call "bad GM", the Green Zebra only dates from 1983 and was the product of breeding between 4 heirloom varieties. There's more about it in wikipedia. Interestingly, the farmers market and the stall holder who grows these, both class themselves as GM free.

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  8. This is the most beautiful and tantalizing salad I have seen in a while!

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  9. Thanks Helen - it was wonderfully tasty too!

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  10. love the look of those toms - not that readily available around my part of the world, sadly.

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  11. They aren't that easy to find here either!

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