A refreshing tomato salad made with summer tomatoes and a simple dressing, garnished with gremolata.
Tomato season begins roughly in June and runs through to October, or the end of summer, depending on where you are. Check out my guide to eating seasonally.
During this time you will find many varieties of tomatoes in different colours, sizes and shapes. Make the most of those sweet and juicy tomatoes with a delicious tomato salad.
Also check out my delicious French tomato tart made with cheese and mustard.
This tomato salad recipe combines fresh tomatoes with onions, a simple dressing, and gremolata (a dry garnish of parsley, garlic and lemon) to add extra layers of fresh flavours to the dish.
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Tips on ingredients
For best flavour, use the best quality ingredients you can find.
- Tomatoes – any variety of tomatoes that are in season. Select good quality, ripe, firm tomatoes locally sourced from a farmers market or a speciality shop. I used a selection of tomatoes from the Isle of Wight.
- Olive oil – use the best quality olive oil you can find, it will make such a difference. See my post on How To Select A Good Olive Oil.
- Vinegar – either a red or white wine vinegar.
- Garnish – add extra flavour with this quick and easy gremolata
Dressing
Instead of drizzling oil and vinegar directly over the tomatoes, I used an emulsified dressing.
When ingredients don’t blend together (in this case oil and vinegar), an extra ingredient is added (garlic) to incorporate them together. The result is a thicker, creamier and smoother dressing which carries more flavour.
An emulsified dressing will cling to the salad ingredients more effectively and not separate before serving.
Slowly whisk the olive oil into a bowl with the vinegar and garlic to blend the ingredients together. The result is a completely homogenised mixture. Alternatively, all the ingredients can be added to a glass jar which is then shaken vigorously to achieve the same result.
To serve
Before serving, garnish the salad with a tasty gremolata to add even more delicious fresh flavour.
This tomato salad is best served at room temperature with some crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Storing
Keep the salad in the fridge for up to a day and it will be delicious on toast. Stir well before serving.
The dressing can be made a couple of days ahead and stored in a closed jar in the fridge. Shake well before using.
As gremolata is made with fresh herbs so it is best to prepare it before using.
⭐️ Are you making this Summer Tomato Salad recipe? I’d love to know how it turned out in the comments!
Instagram – I love seeing your creations, so post a picture, tag @endofthefork and hashtag #endofthefork
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📋 Recipe
Summer Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 700 grams tomatoes 1 ½ pounds, any variety, ripe and firm
- 1 clove garlic small
- 1 small red onion
- ¼ cup olive oil good quality
- 1 tablespoon wine vinegar red or white
- ⅙ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
gremolata
- 25 grams fresh parsley ½ cup, washed and dried
- 1 clove garlic small
- 1 small lemon unwaxed
Instructions
- 700 grams tomatoesChop the small tomatoes into wedges and the larger ones into chunks, and place in a bowl.
- 1 small red onionFinely slice the onion and add to the tomatoes.
- 1 clove garlic, 1 tablespoon wine vinegar, ¼ cup olive oilFinely chop the garlic and transfer to a small bowl. Add the vinegar then pour in the olive oil slowly, whisking till emulsified.
- ⅙ teaspoon saltMix in the salt and pour over the tomatoes, mixing to ensure they are well coated in the dressing. Cover and set aside for half an hour to allow the flavours to come develop.
Gremolata
- Zest the lemon and chop
- Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with gremolata. Serve at room temperature with some crusty bread.
Notes
- Use the best quality ingredients you can find for this simple salad.
- Any variety of tomatoes can be used, but they should be ripe and firm.
- Select a very good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- You can use either a red or white wine vinegar.
- Try to prepare this salad half an hour in advance as once salt is added, juices from the tomatoes are released, creating a delicious dressing.
- The gremolata adds delicious fresh flavour.
- This salad will keep in the fridge till the next day and will be delicious on toast. Stir well before serving.
MEASUREMENT NOTES
The ingredients here on EOTF are set out in grams & milliliters and in US cups & spoons.
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