Tomato Salad with Basil

Preparing the vegetables

1. The vegetables must be perfectly fresh, neither overripe nor limp. Ideally, all the vegetables and herbs are just picked from the garden. For this salad it’s best to use small red tomatoes, cherry tomatoes will do, that aren’t overripe yet and barely release any juice when cut; such tomatoes hold their shape well in a salad. In addition, I recommend a large yellow or “chocolate” tomato, which makes the salad nicely colorful and pleasing to the eye.

2. Take the vegetables out of the fridge ahead of time, because the salad is served at room temperature. If the vegetables are not from the garden, it’s worth soaking them, especially the herbs and cucumbers, in cold water beforehand.

3. Wash all the vegetables under running water and dry them well. Pat the fresh basil dry with paper towels or a kitchen towel.

   

Cutting

1. Cut the small red tomatoes in half. You don’t need to remove the seeds. Put the tomatoes in a deep salad bowl.

   

2. Remove the seeds and white parts from the large tomato, especially the core where it grew on the vine, which is tough and simply unnecessary. Cut the flesh into narrow strips or wedges and add it to the salad bowl.

3. Without peeling the young green cucumber, cut it on the diagonal into thin sticks, the way ham is cut for shepherd’s salad. Add the cut cucumber to the salad bowl.

   

4. Cut the onion into thin strips, or better still, into rings.

   I recommend mild pungent ingredients: sweet onion and a little garlic. Salad onions have a less sharp flavor than ordinary yellow onions and are often called “sweet” onions: white salad onion or Yalta onion, and a small red onion works too.

5. Peel one or two cloves of garlic, to taste, and chop them finely with a knife. Add the onion and garlic to the salad bowl.

   If you like, you can add sweet pepper to the salad. In that case, roast or fry the pepper as for Bulgarian pepper salad.

   

7. Pull all the large leaves off the basil sprigs, chop them very finely and add them to the salad. You can add some of the small leaves whole and use them for garnish.

   

Dressing and serving

1. Right before serving, sprinkle the tomatoes with basil with a pinch of dried oregano, and add a little pepper and salt.

2. Toss the vegetables very gently, literally turning them over so the tomatoes don’t get bruised, and divide them among small individual salad bowls.

3. In a small cup, mix 3 tbsp of pure olive oil with a few drops of balsamic or wine vinegar, or lemon juice. Whisk the dressing with a fork.

4. Pour the dressing over the salad right before serving. You don’t need to toss the appetizer again.

   

5. Serve the tomato salad as an appetizer or a side dish. It doesn’t need chilling, since the salad is served at room temperature. You can garnish it with sprigs of herbs and, if you like, a small amount of fresh hot pepper cut into rings; fans of spicy food will appreciate it.

   This fresh vegetable tomato salad goes very well with an aperitif and makes an excellent appetizer for most dishes of roast meat or chicken. I recommend serving it with a slice of very fresh bread or croutons toasted without oil and rubbed with garlic.