Mothership Tomato Salad

There are two things to remember in this recipe. The first is that you should try to get a mixture of different, tasty, tomatoes in all different shapes, sizes and colors. Second, the flavor is brought out by salting the tomatoes, so don't skip this step. Salting leaves you with really intensely flavored tomatoes. Depending on the size of your tomatoes, slice some in half, some into quarters and others into uneven chunks. Immediately this will give you the beginnings of a tomato salad that's really gorgeous to look at and to eat.

Yield:
4 servings
Category:
Salads and Dressings
Cuisine:
British
Prep Time:
15 min
Cooking Time:
Total Time:
30 min

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 pounds mixed ripe tomatoes, different shapes and colors
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • A handful of fresh oregano stems, young and green but not woody parts
  • 8 to 10 whole fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ cup Balsamic vinegar
  • ¾ cup quality olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Put the tomatoes into a colander and season with a good pinch of sea salt. Use your hands to give them a good toss and coat the cut surfaces with the salt. After about 20 to 30 minutes, rinse gently and thoroughly under cool tap water and turn out onto paper toweling to drain a bit.
  2. Use fresh oregano, leaves as well as stems, but just young green stems, no woody parts as we are going for an intense flavor profile here.
  3. Make a dressing in a hand held or regular blender using the fresh oregano, 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar, 3/4 Extra-virgin olive oil, the garlic, the black pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Zing everything up until nicely smooth, and very aromatic.
  4. Transfer the now somewhat drained and dried tomatoes into a large bowl. Pour the oregano dressing over the mixture and toss well. This is where we let the herbs and tomatoes 'do their thing,' and hang out on the counter for several hours, covered with plastic wrap, and marry their flavors.

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