Summer Tomato & Basil Salad 11Jun11
Summer is most definitely upon us. It’s been excruciatingly hot in NY the last few days. When it’s super hot out I can only think of cool refreshing dishes… like gazpacho soup and cucumber salads with drinks like lemonade, ice teas, mint juleps and mimosas! It’s so hot, I’d be happy with just a bucket of ice!
Today I made a quick snack that I just had to share, a very refreshing (and super simple) tomato salad with fresh basil. It’s so simple, you can’t mess it up. It’s a caprese without mozzarella. The key ingredient is really delicious tomatoes. When buying tomatoes, buy the ones on the vine still. And always store them room temp and not in the fridge. You can put them in the fridge if you know you’re going to eat them immediately, like a few hours before this salad!
Ingredients:
1 large tomato, chill in fridge for a couple hours
handful of basil leaves
2 teaspoons-ish extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon-ish balsamic vinegar
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper
red chili flakesStep 1: Assemble!
Slice up your cold tomato into wedges or slices. Now for your basil chiffonade… take your basil leaves and stack them on top of each other, roll them up and slice to make little slivers. Toss on top of the tomato slices. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, you can eyeball this to your liking. Sprinkle on a couple pinches of coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a small pinch of red chili flakes if you want a little kick. That’s it! Enjoy!Optional
You can sprinkle on some crumbled feta or add some slices of fresh mozzarella. Keep it simple to highlight that delicious tomato, especially if you’re using heirloom tomatoes!
I can only imagine that this summer will call for some cool-inspired dishes. I’ve already got a few ideas on some chilled soups and refreshing fruit salads. I have been meaning to post my panna cotta and chocolate mousse recipes. Stay tuned!
My tomatoes are not ready yet. Still green and small. I cant wait. I bookmarked this.