Tomato Salad (serves 4)
Sometimes simple is best – ripe tomatoes, red onion and olives with a balsamic dressing. However there is a twist that you can do or omit – roasted cherry tomatoes. They do add a depth of flavor, though. My balsamic dressing is delicious thanks to the olive oil stand at my local farmer’s market. His olive oil goes from tree to bottle in 24 hours and his balsamic vinegar is 12 years old – you can really taste the difference and he advised a 2:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. I took black pitted olives from the deli counter and put them in the food processor (taste better than canned olives). Can be an appetizer in the way tomatoes and mozzarella are, or can be a salad.
2 large, ripe tomatoes – sliced
1 or 2 slices of red onion – finely chopped
Handful of black, pitted olives – processed in food processor
Handful of cherry tomatoes – roasted
Arranged slices of tomatoes around a plate.
Place roasted tomatoes on top of each slice of fresh tomato and smush them down.
Sprinkle with red onion and processed olives.
Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.
