Even though there is an abundance of vegetables available all summer, I always feel like I'm struggling to come up with side dishes to have. This is mainly because my husband doesn't like 99% of vegetables. He'd be completely content to eat corn on the cob all summer and I do love it, but I need more of a variety than that.
Since he prefers his vegetables to come from a can I've taken to making vegetable side dishes just for myself so I can enjoy the bounty of produce that's available to me. There is little better than a homegrown Maryland tomato and I'm so excited that I have my own growing this year. But if I can't have my own, I prefer an heirloom tomato over any other type. I love the varieties of colors that they come in and the beautiful creases and ridges, creating the perfectly imperfect tomato.
Purple and red are my favorites, but unfortunately there weren't any purple ones at the store when I was making this recipe, so I had to settle on a red heirloom tomato and some yellow and orange cherry tomatoes. Which, you know, wasn't a hardship at all.
Recipe
#CookoutWeek: Heirloom Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 3-4 medium heirloom tomatoes thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved, mixed colors if available
- ¼ cup Vidalia onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon good quality olive oil
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup fresh shaved Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1. Arrange the tomatoes and onion slices on a platter or serving bowl.
- 2. Drizzle olive oil on top, followed by basil leaves and Parmesan cheese.
- 3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
To be honest, I could eat tomato slices with just salt and pepper on them, but the basil and Parmesan really amp up all of the summer flavors and make this the perfect side dish to chicken, beef, pork or my favorite....steamed crabs!
#CookoutWeek is winding down and I only have one more recipe to share with you tomorrow. If you haven't entered the giveaway yet, you really should do that now. There are tons of great prizes!
Wendy Klik
I am so anxious for Michigan tomatoes. Our season is still a bit of a ways off.