Everyone needs a go-to Recipe for Tomato Salad, especially during the warmer months! Not only does this salad require very minimal ingredients, it also takes only 5 minutes or so to throw together! Serving perfectly as a side dish, appetizer, or salad, this Recipe for Tomato Salad is fresh, flavorful, and a dish you just have to try!
Recipe for Tomato Salad
I absolutely love fresh fruits and veggies, especially tomatoes! Offering a slightly sweet and earthy flavor (especially if you get garden-fresh tomatoes), there’s nothing more refreshing than a cool tomato on a warm day. Paired with a fresh and flavorful basil crumble, and topped with vegan feta cheese, this Recipe for Tomato Salad is sure to impress everyone you share this dish with!
Before we get into more details, we want to give you our top tips for really optimizing the health benefits and flavor of this recipe!
How to Make the Perfect Tomato Salad
Be Sure to Use REAL Extra Virgin Olive Oil
One of the most important parts of this recipe is choosing the absolute best extra virgin olive oil you can find. Anything less than real extra virgin will be a compromise in both taste and health benefits.
Extra virgin olive oil is without a doubt the very best-tasting and healthiest type of olive oil you can buy. This is because it comes from the first pressing of olives. Extra virgin olive oil has the highest antioxidant and phytonutrient profile because it has not been refined—or at least it is not supposed to be refined. But, as with all packaged foods these days, you cannot always rely on what the label claims….
If you have heard about Tom Mueller, the author of “Extra Virginity” and the world’s expert on olive oil and olive oil fraud, then you are aware of the rampant crime and deception that has been a part of olive oil making for hundreds of years. And one thing is for sure, getting superior quality extra virgin olive oil direct from Italy from a mass-market supplier is not very likely.
Finding true extra virgin olive oil is not as easy as you think. It is not exactly cheap either! However, there are a few superior quality extra virgin olive oils I have discovered that are produced right here in the good old USA. One of my favorites, California Olive Ranch, is superior for taste, quality and price. California Olive Ranch can be purchased at many natural foods stores nationwide, or online by clicking here.
Use Organic Tomatoes
Believe me, we know that buying everything organic can get expensive FAST. Which is why we don’t buy all organic ourselves, or expect you to either. However, we are very selective on the food that we are okay with buying conventionally, and very methodical on the ones we insist be organic. One of the ways we determine this is by using EWG’s Dirty Dozen, and Clean 15 Lists. These two lists are updated every year, and give detailed information on which plants contain the highest concentrations of pesticides, and which ones are low on the list. Tomatoes have notoriously made it on the Dirty Dozen List year-after-year, and conventionally grown, contain high levels pesticides that we simply do not want in our bodies.
According to the USDA Pesticide Data Program, there are 35 pesticide residues found on conventionally grown tomatoes, with known health effects such as carcinogens, neurotoxins, and much more.
Ever wonder what pesticides are on your food? Whatsonmyfood.org is a great resource for learning just exactly what pesticides are on your foods, and how they could damage your health. Simply search by food group in the far right side of the page!
Use Fresh Basil
Our last tip is to use fresh basil! While some recipes make room for dried basil, this one is different. Because basil is such a huge part of the flavor and texture of the crumble, buying fresh is absolutely necessary for this recipe.
So, if you don’t quite have fresh basil on hand, set the recipe aside for another day when you do! We promise, you won’t regret it.
With those three tips in mind, your Tomato Salad will turn out fresh, authentic, and full of flavor! Love tomatoes as much as we do? Try these delicious recipes with tomato…
Recipes with Tomato
We absolutely love tomatoes, and use them in many of our dishes! Here are just of a few of our favorites…
Tomato Smoothie: This delicious Tomato Smoothie recipe is a v8 copycat and full of nutrients! Trust us, you can never have too many delicious smoothie recipes.
Tomato Soup: This Homemade Tomato Soup is filled with fresh ingredients and flavor, without all the added sugar found in canned versions on the store shelf!
Vegetable Tian Recipe: If you are looking for a super easy, but fancy-looking side dish, then this Vegetable Tian Recipe should definitely be on the menu. Plus, it’s a great way to load up your plate with vegetables.
Ready to jump into the details? Let’s get into the recipe!
Kitchen Favorites
Recipe for Tomato Salad
Serving perfectly as a side dish, appetizer, or salad, this Recipe for Tomato Salad is fresh, flavorful, and a dish you just have to try!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes, such as Beefsteak
- 1/2 cup raw pine nuts or sunflower seeds
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/3 cup loosely-packed chopped basil
- Unrefined sea salt, to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Vegan feta, to top
Instructions
- Slice the tomatoes and arrange on a serving platter.
- Place the pine nuts, garlic cloves, basil and salt in mini food processor and process into a crumb-like mixture.
- Drizzle the tomatoes with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and spread the basil and pine nut “crumble” mixture on top of the tomatoes. Serve at room temperature.
Last Step! If you loved our recipe, leave us a review below. This helps future recipe makers and ensures continued high-quality recipes for years to come!
Julie
Thursday 24th of July 2014
Our local TJ Maxx had an olive oil tasting a few years ago (they brought in some "foodie"). You can find some great olive oils there. I forget now what to look for, but might be worth a look/try.