Summer Tomato Salad

Overview

As we push into the heart of BBQ season, fresh produce starts to put its best foot forward.

Bright colours. Vibrant flavours. Strong aromatics. Best time of the year!

This delightful tomato salad is perfect for warmer weather and goes well with those good old family BBQs.

Nothing else to say - it’s a good tomato salad.

Kozlovic Malvazija Istarska

Wine Pairing

To pair wine with salad you need to ensure you to match each others flavor intensity. Salad’s that have heavy balsamic and strong cheeses will need a more robust wine, and vice versa. In this case, this is a medium intensity salad that we will pair with a matching wine.

You will want a medium bodied white wine that is unoaked, with bright and crisp flavors of citrus and summer fruits. Fruit notes such as peach, apple, and pear work best with this recipe. Some good go-to wines for this flavor profile are Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and unoaked/slightly oaked Chardonnay.

An atypical wine that pairs very well is this Croatian white that uses their native Malvazija grape. The fresh and crisp flavors of citrus, apple, and peach work really well. It’s undertones of white florals and minerals make this a great complex pairing for this salad. Check out the full review and tasting notes here.

Ingredients (~2 Servings)

• 1lb of cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 shallot or 0.5 of a red onion, sliced thinly

• 1 lemon

• Few springs of chopped Italian parsley

• 8 leaves of basil

• Some Stilton blue cheese

• 1/2 a spring of marjoram leaves

• 1-2 cloves of garlic

• 2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar

• 1-2 Tbsp of good quality balsamic vinegar

• 0.25 cups of good quality olive oil

Steps

• Prepare the Dressing

  • Grind together the 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 a spring of marjoram leaves, and some salt in a mortar and pestle. You’re looking to make a paste.

  • Add 2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar, 1-2 Tbsp of good quality balsamic vinegar, and 0.25 cups of good quality olive oil. Mix together.

  • Add salt and pepper to taste.

• Build the Salad

  • Add thinly sliced 1 shallot to bowl with water and ice for 10 minutes.

    • This is a trick to remove some of the sharp bite and pungency of onions that has a tendency to overpower the dish.

    • If you leave it in there for two long, you risk losing the flavour!

  • Season halved cherry tomatoes with salt. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon over tomatoes. Mix together.

    • If you really like lemon, feel free to grate some lemon zest overtop as well!

  • Combined halved cherry tomatoes, strained 1 shallot thinly sliced, some choppy parsley, and dressing into a bowl. Stir to combine.

  • Add the 8 leaves of basil, gently mix a few times (you don’t want to damage or bruise the basil).

  • Plate with crumbled Stilton blue cheese, however much your heart desires.

    • The blue cheese is cut well with the flavour profile of the tomato salad and adds a nice layer of creaminess that really brings the dish to light!

  • Serve and enjoy!