Colorful, cool, delicious and a great way to make use of an abundance of home grown tomatoes. Wedges of vine ripened Heirloom or Beef Steak tomatoes or even halved vine ripened cherry or grape tomatoes — along with zucchini, squash, orange bell peppers, and onions (or chives) — fresh from the garden or farmer’s market — or halved large ripe Roma tomatoes from the grocery store are all great choices.
Toss the garden vegetables and salt together and set aside at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Gently toss in a small can of drained, fine diced or minced black olives then refrigerate covered to chill.
Meanwhile, whisk dressing ingredients together and set aside at room temperature (or near a warm sunny window or stove) until just before ready to serve the salad to allow the flavors to meld.
When ready to serve, drizzle the desired amount of salad dressing over the chilled salad and toss gently.
The dressing for this recipe also makes a great marinade, can be used for other salads, used to saute with, and for a great number of other things.
Tam's Garden Tomato Salad
A great way to use up an abundance of fresh, vine ripened tomatoes from the garden!
Ingredients
Salad:
- 8 large tomatoes (about 3 pounds), cut into wedges or 3 lbs cherry, grape, or Roma tomatoes halved
- 3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (thin sliced discs, halved)
- 2 medium orange bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 3 small yellow squash, finely diced
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup green, yellow, or red/purple onion, very thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 small can finely dice black olives, drained
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup apple cider or wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar or substitute (optional)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 to 2 teaspoons tarragon
- 1 to 2 teaspoons rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 clove finely minced)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
- a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tablespoon basil (dried or finely minced fresh)
- 1 tablespoon parsley (dried or finely minced fresh)
Instructions
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In a large bowl, combine salad vegetables and salt -- exept olives. Set aside at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
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Toss salad vegetables gently with black olives and place in refrigerator, covered, to chill for 1 to 2 hours.
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In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients until blended. Set aside at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes. (May also set near a warm stove or sunny widow)
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Just before serving, whisk dressing and drizzle dressing over chilled salad; toss gently to coat.
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