Tomato Salad (5 Ways)

So tomato season is almost here. My own vines are filling with fruit and I suspect that even with all the rain, some of us in the Ottawa Valley are only a week or so away from fruit. Having said that, the butter lettuce in my CSA share this week was screaming “I want tomatoes,” especially as I was looking for something light to pair with the penne with fava beans.

What I concocted may be a bit of a stretch about doing tomatoes “5 ways” — truth be told, it is more like 5 different tomatoes done three ways, but that was a bit of a mouthful for a recipe title. I used three different fresh tomatoes for colour (red, orange, and yellow) and then threw in a handful of sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil) and then further used sun-dried tomatoes (in oil this time) to create a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. If you love the taste of tomatoes (I mean really love), then this salad is for you.

Serve with Penne in Fava Bean and Fennel Puree (Pasta)

Prep time:   10 minutes
Cook time:  N/A
Total time:  10 minutes
Servings:    6

Tomato Salad (5 Ways)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bunch of organic butter lettuce, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
• 4 heirloom tomatoes of different colours (e.g. red, orange, yellow, brown)
• 6 organic radishes
  

• 3 tablespoons of chopped, sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 large spring of fresh basil
• 1 spring of Greek oregano
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper

• Grated parmigiano-reggiano to finish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash the lettuce and tear it by hand into mouth-sized pieces and place it in a large salad bowl. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes (dry, not in oil). Slice the tomatoes lengthwise into sections and toss into salad. Thinly slice the radishes and add.
2. To make the vinaigrette, chop the sun-dried tomatoes (in oil) and add to a small food-processor or blender. Add the clove of garlic along with the sprigs of basil and oregano. Add the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Blend until sun-dried tomatoes are finely chopped. Add apple cider vinegar to taste, ensuring the dressing has enough ‘acid’ to cut the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend again until everything is mixed together.
3. Add a few tablespoons of vinaigrette to salad and gently toss … and add additional tablespoons one at a time until salad is well coated but not overly wet. Refrigerate additional dressing for up to a week.
4. Serve on plates, sharing the different coloured tomatoes evenly. Optionally top with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano and enjoy.

Serves 6 as a side salad.