Tomato salads feature heavily in Cook family life. I like them on their own, on the side of a beautiful rare sirloin steak with a bit of Rocket salad, on Bruschetta, or as part of an antipast misti.
Tomato salads form a staple part of the Mediterranean diet and when you buy those beautiful dark red, ripe, sweet tomatoes in a market in Italy or France you know why.
Also for all you blokes out there, they also contain Licapedes (sp?) which apparently help to ward of Prostate cancer.
There are recipes in virtually every mediterranean cook book here's a couple of thoughts from me
Billy Sweeneys Bruschetta salad (or Tuscan toasted bread and tomato salad)
This salad was christened by my oldest friend Billy Sweeney. The Sweeney’s introduced us to Vermont and own the condo next door but one to us in Sugarbush.
I made this salad one day when we were up there and Bill went wild for it, so much so I taught him, and Will, his son, how to make it. Hence the new name for the recipe.
At its most basic this recipe requires very few things: Good extra virgin olive oil, some ciabatta or sourdough bread (preferably yesterday’s) a clove of garlic, some salt (preferably Maldon) and most importantly some good ripe tomatoes (preferably plum) Up in Vermont this means tomatoes from the lovely farmers market in Waitsfield and bread from the Red Hen Bakery.
Basil is also good, as is a drop of lemon Juice. This is one of those recipes you can make your own, if you look at any cookery book from Italy, or Spain, or France or in fact almost anywhere in the Mediterranean there will be a recipe that features bread and tomatoes, sometimes in a soup, sometimes in a salad. So go wild experiment a bit.
Just for the record my version goes like this
Ingredients (for 6)
1 Ciabatta loaf
2lbs ripe tomatoes – plum are good as is a mix of colours/types
250 ml Extra virgin Olive oil
2tbs red wine vinegar
I garlic clove crushed with a little salt
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Maldon salt and ground black pepper
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
Put a small garlic clove into a salad bowl and crushing it with some salt until it makes a paste. I then mix that with a good few glugs of olive oil and leave it to steep for a bit.
Then tear the bread up, it is a bit more user-friendly if you don’t have too much crust as it tends to go a little too hard and doesn’t soak up the juice as well. Stick it into the oven until it crisps up nicely ... about ten minutes or so ... but keep an eye on it, it mustn’t burn.
Now take most of the tomatoes (leave a couple for later) and squeeze the seeds and juice out. If you apply the right pressure and point the stalk end down the sink the tomatoes should just burst and squirt out most of it. Now chop roughly, into decent sized pieces, do not chop too finely. The lob them in the bowl and add the rest of the olive oil and red wine vinegar whisked together then season with salt and pepper to taste.
At the last minute put the toasted bread into the bowl as well. Squeeze the remaining tomatoes over the bread, chop the flesh and add to the bowl.
Add chopped basil and more oil if needed. Toss and serve
Tomato and basil salad
This is not so much a recipe as a reminder. When tomatoes are in season they are delicious.
You can tell if they’re in season by their country of origin. If they’re grown in the country you’re in at the time then they are probably in season. You will also be doing your little bit to keep food miles down and help save the planet.
Good ripe tomatoes are delicious, simply chopped with good olive oil (extra virgin) and a generous pinch of salt .. or if you want to go mad add basil. Anything else is merely gilding the lily
Bruschetta with tomatoes
Get good white bread ... Ciabatta or sourdough are best ... slice it and either toast it or put it in the oven to crisp up. Chop a clove of garlic in half and rub on the toast.
Now add some of the chopped tomato and basil salad. It’s easier if you have chopeed the toms quite small.
Alternatively squeeze a nice ripe tomato onto the bruschetta and press down, pour alittle glug of oill over and sprinkle with salt.
Tomato salads form a staple part of the Mediterranean diet and when you buy those beautiful dark red, ripe, sweet tomatoes in a market in Italy or France you know why.
Also for all you blokes out there, they also contain Licapedes (sp?) which apparently help to ward of Prostate cancer.
There are recipes in virtually every mediterranean cook book here's a couple of thoughts from me
Billy Sweeneys Bruschetta salad (or Tuscan toasted bread and tomato salad)
This salad was christened by my oldest friend Billy Sweeney. The Sweeney’s introduced us to Vermont and own the condo next door but one to us in Sugarbush.
I made this salad one day when we were up there and Bill went wild for it, so much so I taught him, and Will, his son, how to make it. Hence the new name for the recipe.
At its most basic this recipe requires very few things: Good extra virgin olive oil, some ciabatta or sourdough bread (preferably yesterday’s) a clove of garlic, some salt (preferably Maldon) and most importantly some good ripe tomatoes (preferably plum) Up in Vermont this means tomatoes from the lovely farmers market in Waitsfield and bread from the Red Hen Bakery.
Basil is also good, as is a drop of lemon Juice. This is one of those recipes you can make your own, if you look at any cookery book from Italy, or Spain, or France or in fact almost anywhere in the Mediterranean there will be a recipe that features bread and tomatoes, sometimes in a soup, sometimes in a salad. So go wild experiment a bit.
Just for the record my version goes like this
Ingredients (for 6)
1 Ciabatta loaf
2lbs ripe tomatoes – plum are good as is a mix of colours/types
250 ml Extra virgin Olive oil
2tbs red wine vinegar
I garlic clove crushed with a little salt
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Maldon salt and ground black pepper
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
Put a small garlic clove into a salad bowl and crushing it with some salt until it makes a paste. I then mix that with a good few glugs of olive oil and leave it to steep for a bit.
Then tear the bread up, it is a bit more user-friendly if you don’t have too much crust as it tends to go a little too hard and doesn’t soak up the juice as well. Stick it into the oven until it crisps up nicely ... about ten minutes or so ... but keep an eye on it, it mustn’t burn.
Now take most of the tomatoes (leave a couple for later) and squeeze the seeds and juice out. If you apply the right pressure and point the stalk end down the sink the tomatoes should just burst and squirt out most of it. Now chop roughly, into decent sized pieces, do not chop too finely. The lob them in the bowl and add the rest of the olive oil and red wine vinegar whisked together then season with salt and pepper to taste.
At the last minute put the toasted bread into the bowl as well. Squeeze the remaining tomatoes over the bread, chop the flesh and add to the bowl.
Add chopped basil and more oil if needed. Toss and serve
Tomato and basil salad
This is not so much a recipe as a reminder. When tomatoes are in season they are delicious.
You can tell if they’re in season by their country of origin. If they’re grown in the country you’re in at the time then they are probably in season. You will also be doing your little bit to keep food miles down and help save the planet.
Good ripe tomatoes are delicious, simply chopped with good olive oil (extra virgin) and a generous pinch of salt .. or if you want to go mad add basil. Anything else is merely gilding the lily
Bruschetta with tomatoes
Get good white bread ... Ciabatta or sourdough are best ... slice it and either toast it or put it in the oven to crisp up. Chop a clove of garlic in half and rub on the toast.
Now add some of the chopped tomato and basil salad. It’s easier if you have chopeed the toms quite small.
Alternatively squeeze a nice ripe tomato onto the bruschetta and press down, pour alittle glug of oill over and sprinkle with salt.
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