Fancy Tomato Salad Recipes

FANCY AND BEAUTIFUL TOMATO SALAD

Steps:

• Gently toss heirloom and cherry tomatoes and 1¼ tsp. salt in a medium bowl to combine and set aside.
• Finely grate lemon zest into a small bowl, then grate in garlic; set lemon aside.
• Heat oil in a small saucepan or skillet over medium until just starting to shimmer. Add za'atar and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, about 1 minute. Add lemon zest and garlic, cook 10 seconds, then remove from heat. (You're looking to cook off the raw flavor of the garlic without losing the brightness of the lemon.) Transfer za'atar oil to a heatproof measuring cup.
• Place pita chips in a large bowl and drizzle 2 Tbsp. za'atar oil over; season with salt. Mix well with a rubber spatula, aiming to coat chips without breaking them into too many pieces.
• Cut reserved lemon in half and squeeze juice from 1 lemon half into a small bowl. Stir in honey and remaining ½ tsp. salt. Gradually add remaining za'atar oil, stirring constantly until emulsified. Taste dressing and add more lemon juice, honey, or salt if needed.
• Add feta, basil, mint, and reserved tomatoes to bowl with chips and drizzle dressing over; toss gently to combine.
• Spoon salad onto platter, making sure to leave no juices behind. Eat fast for crunchy chips or let sit for a crispy-gone-soggy experience.

FANCY TOMATO SALAD

Steps:

• 1. Rinse and dry scallions and radishes. Trim roots off scallions. Using a thin, sharp, pointed paring knife, slice 1 inch long cuts (length-wise) through middle of white end. Do this 2 or 3 times to make a fringe on the root end. Trim off other end at around 6 inches. Place these trimmed scallions in a deep bowl of ice water. Trim root point and leaves off radish, leaving it in a round shape. Holding with point side up, make 4 small slices around base. You are making rose "petals" with each slice. Moving up a level, stagger 4 more slices. Make sure they are deep enough, but don't cut the leaf away from the base. Continue around maybe one more time. Pare away center of radish so toothpick will show. Add to bowl with scallions. Set in refrigerator to let them "blossom" at least 2 hours. This can be done ahead or even the night before, just keep icy cold.
• 2. When ready to make salad, rinse and dry remaining ingredients. Carefully cut around the stem top of the tomato, making a deep hole, but do NOT pierce the bottom of the tomato. Scoop out loose insides and seeds (but leave the tomato skin and flesh intact to make a tomato bowl to hold your salad). Turn upside down to drain for a bit.
• 3. Select 8 pretty leaves from the middle of a head of Romaine lettuce. Leaves should be about 6 inches tall, not too broad at base. Insert 2 into each tomato, in a fan shape. Push gently down on tomatoes to flatten the bottoms and keep from rolling over. If leaves are too long, tomato will keep toppling over. Trim more off lettuce base if necessary.
• 4. Choose 3 or 4 long Enoki mushrooms for each tomato. Trim bottom if necessary. Insert into tomatoes in front of lettuce leaves.
• 5. Insert 3 to 5 nice long chives behind mushrooms. Should be like a floral arrangement, with the chives gracefully sticking out above everything else.
• 6. Insert a colorful, wooden toothpick into bottom base of radish rose. Push up so that it can be seen in center of rose. Insert the other end of toothpick into the center of the scallion "blossom." Put one assembled "rose" into each tomato, right in the center front. Surround and fill in with watercress.
• 7. Put on a pretty salad plate, maybe with some shredded lettuce around it. Or you could put in a shallow, stemmed pudding dish/bowl or even a wide champagne, long-stemmed glass would look elegant. Just be careful they won't tip over. Sit the glass on top of salad plate (for eating). Drizzle with salad dressing and set out on dining table. Serves 4