This Heirloom tomato basil salad is from one of Jamie Oliver’s recipes in his 30 minutes meals: Colourful tomatoes tossed in a fresh dressing of basil leaves, white wine vinegar and olive oil. Takes less than 10 minutes to make, and is utterly delicious!
I was idly watching (re-re watching) one of Jamie Oliver’s 30 minute meals TV episodes, as usual admiring the dexterity with which he chopped, pureed, sautéed while he talked and smiled and explained the easiest way to go about making the dish on hand. I suddenly realised that I was hungry, had not made lunch and was not interested in spending time on making it either. And there was this bag full of heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, different colours, shapes and sizes, just what Jamie prescribes for his salads. A bunch of purple basil (the original recipe calls for green basil, but purple was what I had on hand), a clove of garlic, a dash of olive oil and the nice white wine vinegar in my goodies cupboard, and there: lunch was on the table, in the form of a satisfying Heirloom tomato basil salad!
The heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and of course, the purple basil, were purchased from First Agro Farms through their distributing arm, Sakura Fresh. We at Bangalore are so blessed to be able to source zero pesticide and gorgeous vegetables and herbs delivered right to the doorstep.
Quantities are not very important in this salad, you just need enough dressing to nicely coat the tomatoes all over. I have given an indicative list here below. Though this is a Heirloom tomato basil salad, if you don’t have heirloom tomatoes, you could substitute them with nice firm but ripe tomatoes.
Instead of the Basil dressing, check my recipe on this blog, for Home made Basil Oil. It’s really tasty! Link for the recipe:
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1 bunch basil Fresh leaves
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper Fresh ground
- 500 gms Tomatoes Fresh , different colours, shapes and sizes -
Ingredients
Basil Dressing
Salad
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- Wash the Basil and pluck the leaves from the stalks. Place the leaves in the mixer/food processor, reserving a few for garnish ( unless you are very hungry, as I was, with no patience for garnishing the salad)!
- Add the olive oil, peeled clove of garlic and vinegar. A pinch of salt and pepper. Puree till you get an oily fluid paste.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Chop the tomatoes, halving the small ones and cutting the larger ones into bite sized chunks.
- Pour some of the dressing into a bowl, add the chopped tomatoes.
- Mix well with your (clean!) fingers just before serving, so that the dressing covers the salad. Check the taste, add more dressing if required. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if required.
- Serve as a main course with chunks of focaccia, or serve as a side for pasta, pizza, quesadilla or a savoury au gratin.
Thanks Paluk! Let me know how it works out!
I will certainly try this !!