From Late Spring to Mid Autumn, our tomatoes are beautiful. In Australia, we each eat around 25kg on average per year. Salads, soups and curries, baked, roasted, grilled, sauteed, and dried, chopped, sliced or pureed, tomatoes play a large part in our cuisine. Elizabeth David reminds us of the French approach of simple is best, even when it comes to tomatoes.
We also have lots of tomato salads to browse, and indeed lots of salads here and here. Take your time. Perhaps you might like the tomato recipes here and here. Or find some inspiration in our Summer recipes here and here.
Simple is Best
- Let the ingredient shine. Observe. Be mindful. Let the product or produce talk to you.
- Use the best (you can afford) of everything that you use in the kitchen.
- Halve your time, double your fun and triple your compliments.
- Be Simple. Be thankful.
Oh So Simple Tomato Salad
Source : adapted from Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking
Cuisine: French, but really global
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 0 mins
Serves: 4 – 6 people, depending how you use it
ingredients
fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes in season, the best (but not necessarily the most expensive) you can get
extra virgin olive oil
the best vinegar or a little lemon juice
sea salt
black pepper
a pinch sugar
parsley
method
Slice the tomatoes and lay onto a plate. Drizzle any juice from the tomatoes over the slices.
Drizzle a tiny bit of vinegar over the slices. Not too much. Put your finger over the bottle opening to stop it coming out too fast, or pour into a teaspoon or other utensil first.
Sprinkle with sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper.
Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over the slices – this brings out the flavour. Again, just a little. You don’t want to taste the sugar.
Take that wonderful olive oil, golden yellow or even a little green in colour and drizzle it over everything.
Serve.
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beautiful pic. simple salad. very very refreshing 🙂
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oh, no, j, how could you leave out the tequila. a good salad or salsa needs a dash of booze. 😀 how do you manage to make tomatoes look so glam? the first time i visited your blog, i saw the sexiest tomatoes i had ever seen. now they have been relegated to second place, ‘cos these are the sexiest.
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Tequila bee? Oh no! I am aiming for the essence of tomato. And sun ripened organic Australian tomatoes are very special (as you have noticed).
(but i have to say I love a slurp of Bombay Gin in a good green salad dressing).
Hi Nags, thank you. It is amazing in its taste. Surprising, infact. How easy we can forget to remember the wonder of simple of food.
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This is a beautiful salad. We’re just getting our first snows up in chilly Montreal this week, so your sunny tomatoes are a breath of fresh air for me.
Speaking of fresh, I love your simplicity reminder. I just bought Alice Waters “The Art of Simple Food,” and I’m rediscovering these same rules. Food can be such a joy when it’s honestly and simply prepared. It’s exciting!
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I think always the simple recipe are the best.
Enjoy the sunny weather down under. Here it is cold so it is soup time 🙂
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I prepare similar salad with roti’s. I add sliced cucumbers and onions and cilantro instead of parsley . Looks very refreshing.
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Thank you so much for your kind comment on my post. i’ve followed your breadcrumbs back and I’m afraid I’ve just been nibbling at your larder. Delicious!! Thanks, I’ll be back
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Thank you so much to everyone – it has been really nice to find out that others are attracted by Simple Food too.
Hannehanne, I must look for Alice Waters. I read your blog and it sounds wonderful.
Happy Cook, maybe tomato soup? One of my favourites.
sivapriya, yum with rotis. I love the taste of cucumbers and onions with Indian food. Beautiful partnership.
african vanielje, my pleasure. It was nice to find your blog. Glad you like my cooking space, I will cerntainly visit you again.
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I can just once again say the same that I did with your cucumber post…simple is the way to go!
Ronell
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