Sliced tomato salad with ten variations pt 1

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
4 larges Toamtoes; sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions

BASIC RECIPE

A recipe for this style of salad is not really necessary; you just need to keep a few simple rules in mind. First of all, choose 2 medium or 1 large tomato per person, more if the salad will be the main part of the meal.

Many chefs consider it essential that you peel the tomato, but I don't make this a hard and fast rule. When I am making a simple tomato salad for myself, I don't peel the tomatoes. Nor do I peel a bushel of tomatoes when I'm serving a group of a 100 if the tomatoes are of the best quality.

Thicker-skinned tomatoes have been developed for commercial reasons, for the ease of storage and shipping, and these should be peeled (actually, they should not be used at all). Salads starring unpeeled tomatoes offer up summer's simplest, rustic pleasures; but if your tastes are more refined, feel free to peel them.

Next, you must slice the tomato through its equator not through its poles - ~- that is horizontally, not vertically. You are making slices, not wedges.

If you look at a tomato as a tiny globe, its blossom end is the south pole, the stem end the north pole. Its fat middle is the center, its equator. Cut the tomato in ¼-inch slices parallel with the equator. Discard the pole ends and arrange the thick slices on a plate or platter.

Drizzle your sliced tomatoes with a little extra-virgin olive oil and add a sprinkling of kosher salt and a freshly ground black pepper. Be sure to have plenty of good, crusty bread on hand to soak up the delicious juices that gather on the plate. And, finally, vary the color and variety of the tomatoes in each salad for a more visually striking and more delicious effect.

Basic Recipe:

Arrange the sliced tomatoes on 1 large or 4 individual plates. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Let the salad rest for 10 or 15 minutes so that the flavors can mingle, but be sure to serve it within an hour of preparation.

Variations:

Italian Parsley & Garlic: Sprinkle 2 or 3 cloves of crushed and minced garlic and 3 tablespoons of minced fresh Italian parsley over the tomatoes before adding the olive oil.

Italian Parsley, Garlic, & Grated Cheese: Sprinkle 2 or 3 cloves of crushed and minced garlic, 3 tablespoons of minced fresh Italian parsley over the tomatoes before adding the olive oil. Scatter 2 ounces of grated hard cheese (Dry Jack, Parmigiano, Romano, or aged Asiago) over the tomatoes after the olive oil has been added.

Tomatoes with Shaved Parmegiano and Garlic: Sprinkle 2 cloves of crushed and minced garlic over the tomatoes before adding the olive oil. Using a vegetable peeler, make 15 to 20 curls of imported Parmigiano cheese and scatter them over the tomatoes. Mozzarella Fresca & Fresh Basil: Tuck 8 slices (about 4 ounces) of mozzarella fresca here and there between the slices of tomato before adding the olive oil. Cut 10 to 12 leaves of fresh basil into very thin, lengthwise strips and scatter them over the surface of the salad.

Peppers & Cucumbers: Before adding the olive oil, scatter 2 or 3 cloves of crushed and minced garlic over the tomatoes. Cut 2 medium or 1 large lemon cucumber into very thin slices and tuck them in between slices of tomatoes.

Cut 1 medium-sized, medium-hot pepper, such as a pasilla, into thin rounds and tuck them here and there between the tomatoes and cucumbers.

Lemons: Slice 1 lemon (Meyer's, if available) very thinly and tuck the slices here and there in between the slices of tomato before adding the olive oil.

continued in part 2

Related recipes