Close your eyes and imagine Italy as you enjoy this brightly flavoured Marinated Tomato Salad. Marinating the tomatoes intensifies their flavour. As a side dish, the salad will accompany meat, poultry or fish. It’s ideal to take to a pot-luck as it travels well, or, serve it as bruschetta on crusty, toasted bread. There’s absolutely no effort involved in making this flavourful salad; ensure that you make it soon.
1tablespoonflat leaf parsleyfinely chopped, plus additional for garnish
1tablespoonbasil leavesfinely sliced, plus additional for garnish
2teaspoonbaby capersdrained, optional
sea salt and freshly ground black pepperto taste
some additional chopped parsley and basil for servingoptional
Instructions
Cut the tomatoes into thick slices and arrange them in a large, shallow dish.
Cut the onion in half and finely slice into half-moon shapes.
Add the oil, vinegar, sliced onion, garlic, capers, parsley, basil, salt and pepper to a small bowl and mix well together.
Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and gently turn them to coat in the dressing.Cover with cling wrap and marinate 2-3 hours on the kitchen bench. Gently turn the tomatoes in the dressing once or twice to ensure they are all well coated.If you refrigerate the tomatoes, be sure to bring them to room temperature before serving. *
Transfer the tomatoes and their juices to a serving bowl. Add some freshly sliced parsley and basil to the top of the salad if desired.
Serve with crusty bread for mopping up the juices.
Notes
*Use the best tomatoes that you can find. They should be ripe, full of flavour yet still firm. Soft tomatoes will not hold up well in the vinaigrette.* To obtain the maximum flavour and health benefitting nutrients I prefer extra virgin olive oil.*Although I’m a lover of garlic, I prefer to not go overboard with it in this salad as the pungency of the garlic tends to dominate and override the sweet flavour of the tomatoes. Crush it or finely grate it on a Microplane.*To slice the basil leaves, stack the large basil leaves together, one on top of the other. Put the smaller leaves on top then roll them all up tightly like a cigar. Slice the basil into thin strips.*To enjoy the maximum flavour, it is essential that the tomatoes be at room temperature when eaten.*The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. You may need to adjust the measurements accordingly.