you're making mealtime meaningful.
A fresh sun-ripened tomato straight off of the vine doesn’t need a lot of help but taking a few simple ingredients and marinating them like this might make you feel differently. It doesn’t transform the tomato… it just lifts it up to new heights and makes for one insanely delicious and simple salad. (Or the very best BLT you’ve ever had.)
Now, this works just fine with cherry or grape tomatoes but a big sliced tomato gives you a juicier experience and those juices mingle with the marinade to create a mighty fine sauce.
So just what is in that magic marinade? Well, it’s just olive oil, red wine vinegar, shallots, garlic, and basil. It’s not a long list, but it’s the perfect combination of acid and fat, herbs and alliums to back up the bright, fresh flavor of the tomatoes.
There isn’t any cooking here. There isn’t any fancy technique or a long list of ingredients, but a major ingredient is time. The tomatoes need time to sit and take in all that goodness, it’s as simple as that. It doesn’t change anything about what makes a fresh tomato great all by itself, it just adds a whole lot extra to it.
Marinated Tomato Salad
Serves 4
5m prep time
2h cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs large tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup shallots, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, shallots, garlic, basil, and salt, and pepper.
- Arrange tomatoes in a shallow dish and pour dressing over them. Cover and let marinate 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
- Bring to room temperature before serving, and spoon juices over the top. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Five Heart Home.