Tomato and Sweet Onion Salad from ‘Rose Water and Orange Blossoms’
Photo: Jason Varney
From Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week: Rose Water and Orange Blossoms by Maureen Abood
Tomato and Sweet Onion Salad
Makes 6 servings
This is less of a recipe than it is a sketch of what belongs in a Lebanese tomato salad, which is so integral, so delicious that life just wouldn’t be as good without it! If it is not tomato season and you want this salad, use halved Campari tomatoes or small grape or cherry tomatoes to avoid mealy winter tomatoes. You’ll notice that it takes a hefty amount of mint to get its flavor to shine through. Tomato salad is especially good eaten with thin flatbread or thin pita bread: just pick up the salad with a small piece of bread and eat it that way. You may want a spoon to help you get all of the incredibly good juices into your mouth when the tomatoes are gone… .
2 pounds / 900 g ripe tomatoes of any shape, size, or color (a variety is nice)
20 fresh mint leaves
medium-size sweet onion, very thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Few grinds of black pepper
To slice the tomatoes, use a serrated knife and cut them in half through the core end. Cut out the cores. Slice the tomatoes into somewhat irregular 1-inch chunks rather than perfect wedges. The mint can be torn into small pieces, or cut in chiffonade into thin ribbons. Place the tomatoes, onion, and mint in a bowl. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Combine and taste. Has your life been changed yet with how good this is? If not, let the salad rest for a bit, taste again, and adjust the seasonings to get you there.
Reprinted with permission from Rose Water & Orange Blossoms: Fresh & Classic Recipes from my Lebanese Kitchen by Maureen Abood (Running Press).
More recipes for your summer tomatoes:
Tomato Ombre on Grilled Rustic Bread
