Green Salads

Heirloom Tomato & Basil Salad

There is a two-month window each year when tomatoes are worth building a dish around, and this is that dish. No lettuce, no cucumber, nothing to hide behind — just heavy heirloom tomatoes cut thick, salted early so they release their juice, torn basil, and olive oil you would happily drink. The salting step is the entire technique: it seasons the fruit from the inside and creates a tomato-water dressing in the bottom of the plate that you will want bread for. Make it in August, not February.

Heirloom Tomato & Basil Salad
10 minPrep time
10 minTotal time
4Servings
160Kcal / serving

Ingredients

  • 900g mixed heirloom tomatoes, at room temperature
  • 1 small shallot, sliced paper-thin
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, the best you have
  • Large handful basil leaves
  • Flaky sea salt
  • Coarse black pepper

Instructions

  1. Soak the shallot

    Put the sliced shallot in a small bowl with the red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Leave it for 10 minutes — this takes the raw bite off and makes a quick pickle.

  2. Cut and salt the tomatoes

    Cut the tomatoes into thick wedges and rounds — vary the shapes. Lay them on a wide platter in a single layer and season generously with flaky salt. Wait 5 minutes.

  3. Dress

    Scatter the shallots over the tomatoes and spoon the vinegar from the bowl over the top. Drizzle with olive oil.

  4. Finish

    Tear the basil over by hand — never chop it — and grind over plenty of black pepper. Serve immediately, at room temperature, with bread.

Turn the leftover tomato juice into a Tuscan Panzanella Salad, or serve it with Grilled Halloumi. Our Best Salad Ingredients guide covers how to buy tomatoes worth eating.

The EasySaladBowl secretNever refrigerate tomatoes. Cold destroys the enzymes that make them taste like anything. Store them stem-side down on the counter and use them within a few days.

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