Tuscan Tomato Salad
⏳ Time
1 hour
🥕 Ingredients
7
🍽️ Servings
4
Description
This salad is one of the varieties of light vegetable salads whose recipes have come to us from Italy. It has a balanced taste and acidity that is pleasant and light on hot days. The recipe suggests grating some Parmesan cheese on top, but in its absence, I sprinkled some crushed toasted pine nuts on top. Before slicing the tomatoes, place them in the sun for about 30–40 minutes to warm up. This will enhance the aroma of the assorted fruits and give the salad an unexpected fragrance.
Ingredients
- Nigella Seeds - 1 teaspoon
- Garlic - to taste
- Fresh basil leaves - ½ bunch
- Tomatoes - 2 lbs
- Olive Oil - 5 fl oz
- Parmesan Cheese - to taste
- Ciabatta - 1 piece
Step by Step guide
Step 1
Take assorted tomatoes (yellow, black, traditionally red, and surprisingly — green, unripe, about the size of cherry tomatoes) and use small ones (totaling 0.5 kg). Slice them into a salad bowl (not metal). The slices can be in various shapes — wedges, rounds, or whatever you prefer.
Step 2
Add a little salt and pepper (I used white ground pepper, which is more aromatic).
Step 3
Roughly chop (without stems) the leaves of fresh basil and cilantro (again — the amount is to taste, and don’t be afraid to add more; you won’t spoil it).
Step 4
Press one clove of garlic.
Step 5
Pour in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2–3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
Step 6
Grate the zest of one lime (try to grate without the white pith), then roll the lime on the table with your palm and squeeze the juice into the salad.
Step 7
Mix everything together, but not with a spoon, use your hands. Metal gives an unpleasant aftertaste. Set aside — let it marinate and release plenty of juice.
Step 8
Now, prepare the bread. For this salad, I used Italian ciabatta. Take one roll, which can be a bit stale (but not to the point of being a cracker), and break it into pieces about 2x2 cm in a baking dish.
Step 9
Drizzle the bread with olive oil, just a little, so that the salt sticks to the bread.
Step 10
Gently crush the fennel seeds with your fingers.
Step 11
Press one clove of garlic and add a couple of pinches of dried oregano.
Step 12
Mix everything slightly and place it in an oven preheated to maximum. Let the bread dry out and brown, and it’s okay if the bread gets a little burnt — the aroma won’t spoil, but will enhance and improve.
Step 13
Let the bread cool and add it to the salad, collecting all the crumbs and seeds from the dish, which will add a pleasant crunch to the salad. Press the bread slightly into the vegetables and let it sit so the bread absorbs the juice.
Step 14
Then mix everything together, add a few more fresh sliced tomatoes on top, and garnish with whole leaves of fresh basil.
Step 15
Drizzle olive oil and a small amount of red wine vinegar on top, a drop for beauty, on the green basil leaves.
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