Sunday, July 3, 2011

Heirloom Tomato Salad



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a lovely salad to have on the menu for picnics or barbecues. The play of colors in this dish is spectacular, and its flavors, when made with vine-ripened tomatoes can't be beat. Ideally, it should be made with ripe heirloom tomatoes, but when they are not available, I'm perfectly comfortable substituting other colorful varieties. The salad is one I suspect you'll quickly adapt to your own tastes. The tomatoes can be sliced or diced and the choice of dressing is limited to the cook's imagination. If you were to select one from a bottle, I'd certainly never tell. Homemade or store-bought, my only caution is a reminder to drown the tomatoes in dressing. I like to serve this salad at picnics because it transports easily and jostling in the car won't affect its already rustic appearance. This is the recipe I use to assemble it.

Heirloom Tomato Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Salad
2 cups torn fresh spinach or arugula
2 cups sliced multicolored heirloom or vine ripened tomatoes
1 cup red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup sliced red onion
Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh, minced marjoram
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions:
1) Combine spinach, tomatoes and onion in a large bowl.
2) Combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, marjoram, salt, pepper and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 6 servings.







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54 comments :

Anonymous said...

Brought stash of heirloom tomatoes to the beach with us. This will be lunch today--much cleverer than the tomato sandwiches I was considering.

Heather S-G said...

Heirlooms are just so gorgeous...I find them hard to resist. I love the color of your salad, sounds like a wonderful addition to any table :D

Katie said...

This salad sounds delightful. I like the idea of combining the larger heirloom tomatoes with smaller cherry tomatoes. Can't wait to try this for a picnic!

StephenC said...

We bought two tomatoes at farmers market yesterday - $4.50! Talk about sticker shock. The heirlooms are frankly out of our price range, but the ones we got were very good.

Katarina said...

I like this salad, it's fresh and colorful!

Cher Rockwell said...

What a beautiful, simple salad for a summer weekend. Thanks for sharing!

What's next said...

Looks wonderful! Wish I could find a good place to get heirloom tomatoes! I'll try it with what I can get!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I can't wait for heirlooms!

Diane said...

I have never heard of heirloom tomatoes they sound interesting. I love colourful salads. Diane

Maris (In Good Taste) said...

What a gorgeous salad! It is so bright and cheerful!

Kerstin said...

Mmm, looks like the perfect summer side - heirlooms are so delicious!

Tanna said...

Fresh and fantastic!!

Jennifer said...

YUM, I have everything I need to make this salad, it would be great for the 4th of July party I am attending tomorrow!

tasteofbeirut said...

I love these simple tomato salads!

Rue said...

Oh yum! I love heirloom tomatoes! It's so much fun finding all the different colours and patterns (I loved the striped ones!) Delish.

Cheah said...

The salad looks so inviting because of its vibrant colours! Healthy and nutritious!

Mother Rimmy said...

Who can resist heirloom tomatoes. Our growing season here in Seattle is so late in coming this year. I can't wait to see garden fresh tomatoes! Lovely salad!

Janice said...

Sounds delicious. I love tomatoes in season, the taste is just so much better.

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

That's a beautiful and colorful salad! Love the dressing.

Charlie @ SweetSaltySpicy said...

This salad looks delicious! Perfect for hot summer days!

Anonymous said...

This salad looks so fresh and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

tinyskillet said...

I wish we could get heirloom tomatoes regularly. Your salad is so pretty and coulorful! Yum! Have a great 4th of July!

Ginny Hartzler said...

I just read an article in the paper that says that heirloom tomatoes are more nutritious for you than regular! In fact I tore it out of the paper and am going to do a blog post on it in the near future.

Joanne said...

Heirloom tomatoes are really truly amazing...I go out all and buy them constantly in the summer. This salad really lets their sweet flavors shine!

Plateful said...

Simple, quick and healthy - love it!

Marguerite said...

Looks so delicious and dressing sounds fab, too! What a beautiful, colorful salad and perfect for a hot summer day, like today! Have a Happy 4th!

Betty @ scrambled henfruit said...

I love all of the unique colors and flavors of heirlooms- this salad is a lovely way to showcase them. :)

Rivki Locker said...

In my humble opinion, anything with tomatoes is worth making! This looks super. Love the use of rice wine vinegar. I rarely use that but it's so nicely flavored.

Rosita Vargas said...

Mari as always delicious recipes, salad, very refreshing and nice color, hugs and many blessings.

Prieta said...

What a beautiful salad! Perfect for these summer days.
I love all the recipes in you blog, great job!

emilie said...

Hello, I'm your newest follower! I'm in love with your blog heading. I was searching for ideas for "one bite" salads for an upcoming salad competition and really want to try fork bites with different salad dressing dipping sauces. Thanks for the inspiration!

Emilie
www.liveeatsmile.blogspot.com

michele said...

The salad and the fact that it travels well has sold me.

Chris's Gourmet Fashion said...

So simple, good and nutritous. I love your dressing too. Can't wait for our heirloom tomatoes to ripen. Have a great day tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

This looks like a really healthy salad!

Create. Snap. Eat. said...

This is perfect for summer! Especially when the temperature is above 100 degrees.

Banana Wonder said...

I love heirloom tomatoes SOOOO much! It makes me so excited for summer. Great salad... and I vote for arugula on the green side.

Lifewithspices said...

a perfect summer salad..

Yummy Bakes said...

That's a very colorful and healthy salad.

Plate and Pour said...

Aren't heirloom tomatoes just wonderful? I cannot imagine summer without them! Beautiful recipe, thanks for sharing! Have a great 4th!

Priya Suresh said...

Fresh and colourful salad..

Alessandra said...

Oh I miss tomato salads! It is winter here and I try not to buy tomatoes from the supermarket because they are not in season, but this is so tempting :-)

Have a good week

ciao
Alessandra

Red Nomad OZ said...

One of life's greatest joys is eating homegrown tomatoes - heirloom or otherwise! In winter, the only tomatoes on offer are of poor quality and taste ... so I do without!!

I look forward to trying this recipe - but only when I can get 'real' tomatoes!

Clint said...

Beautiful, nutritious and inviting. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Faith said...

When it comes to good heirloom tomatoes, I love a dish like this that really lets their flavor come through. Hope you're having a wonderful Independence Day, Mary!

Kim said...

When tomatoes are ripe, juicy and tasty, there is nothing better than a salad like yours. I like it, it looks so good!

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

I love mixing the different color and sizes of tomatoes in salads. I'm waiting and hoping for my tomato harvest to begin. I have black and red cherries and several colors of heirloom tomatoes. Hope I can share a photo of a salad with you but I think it will have to wait until August.

Lenia said...

What a colorful salad!Refreshing and delicious!I love the dressing!Greetings from Greece,dear Mary!

~~louise~~ said...

Lovely salad, Mary.

Patiently I wait for my heirlooms to ripen. Soon I hope. In the mean time, I'm satisfied at the moment to enjoy your festive presentation.

Thanks for sharing, Mary...

Happy & Safe Independence Day!!!

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

Can't wait for the heirloom tomatoes! Happy Fourth, Mary!

Desserts In My Kitchen said...

I love tomato salads, and this looks simple enough. Very nice. This would be great for any BBQ. Thanks for posting :)

David said...

Mary, Heirloom tomatoes are among my favorite healthy foods! While I prefer them on A BLT, this salad would definitely do the trick for me... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Andrea B @ Vegvacious said...

This looks delicious! I can't wait to try it out when tomatoes come into season.

Cooking Creation said...

The colors are stunning and I'm sure the taste was out of this world! Thanks for sharing :)

That Girl said...

My husband will only eat heirloom tomatoes!

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