It is hard to compete with luscious home grown tomatoes. They are completely perfect on their own. And they're also the star of this iconic summer salad.
If you're lucky enough to grow your own tomatoes, you know how amazing a fresh tomato can be. My husband waits for our first garden tomatoes to ripen, and as soon as they do he just slices them up, sprinkles a little salt on them and eats them. Luckily, farmers markets are popping up all over the place these days. So even if you don't have some tomato plants growing in your backyard it's always possible to find some around town.
Here is our first crop of tomatoes for the season and the inspiration for our Garden Tomato Salad lunch.
Ingredients for Garden Tomato Salad
Tomatoes, variety of types, sizes and colors
Fresh Basil
Kosher Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Time Saving Tip: This salad comes together so quickly that there is no time saving tip.
There are no quantities for this recipe. Make as much or as little as you would like.
Now we're ready to make our salad.
Slice the tomatoes and arrange on a platter. I cut them in roughly 1/4 inch slices. I half the cherry and grape tomatoes so they don't explode when you take a bite out of one. But if you live live on the edge feel free to leave the whole.
Sprinkle with Kosher salt and some freshly ground pepper and torn basil leaves. Do not cut the basil because the edges will darken.
Drizzle with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar.
Here it is. The most delicious Garden Tomato Salad. Serve with some good Italian bread which is perfect for dipping into all of the salad juice at the bottom of the plate.
Enjoy!