There's an abundance of tomatoes at the moment so whether you have grown your own or bought them cheaply from a supermarket, this simple salad is a delicious, nutritious and refreshing way to serve them.
If you're prepared to spend a few extra pennies and go for some Heritage tomatoes....they will turn this salad from something delicious into something sublime! I just adore all the different shapes and colourways that appear in these boxes of produce. They really do make a difference to this salad as visually they are so exciting not to mention the flavour! This box was around £4 but it made two enormous salads, each enough for 3-4 people as a side dish.
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YOU WILL NEED: (serves 4 as a side salad)
The whole salad comes to 7sp/approx 330kcal so 2sp/approx.83kcal per person
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4-5 large tomatoes
(Or a selection of Heritage tomatoes)
handful of fresh basil leaves
2 Spring onions
1/2 medium avocado
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
black pepper
tiny pinch salt
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Select a good variety of shapes, colours and textures of tomato.
Start by slicing the largest, most open structured tomato and layer at the bottom of a large serving bowl.
Slice the remaining tomatoes and layer on top.
Scatter with basil leaves and a tiny pinch of salt. I very rarely use salt but this just enhances the flavours of the tomatoes.
Chop the Spring onions finely at an angle then sprinkle over the tomatoes.
Halve the avocado. Peel one half and slice as finely as possible into ribbon-like pieces. Toss in lemon juice then scatter over the salad. Wrap the remaining half including the stone in clingfilm to stop it going brown, then refrigerate.
Finally, splash one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and one teaspoon of olive oil over the salad to gently bring out the natural flavours in these gorgeous, simple ingredients. Add a generous grind of black pepper. Mix gently on serving.
This makes a lovely accompaniment to any grilled meat or fish, or a delicious light starter.
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Tomatoliscious.
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