Tomato & Basil=Caprese Salad. Tomato & Cilantro= Salsa. Right? Here’s a salad that’s sort of a hybrid of the two. Which means you can now eat salsa with a fork and knife! Chips are not invited to this party.
What you’ll find here is a surprisingly delicious/refreshing/light sliced tomato salad with a little sharp kick of red onions, a toasty coriander undertone and a nice tang of red wine vinegar. Talk about tomato enhancing! A salad that is slightly reminiscent of salsa but then totally not. If you happen to have leftover Scalloped Corn & this tomato salad, do yourself a favor and grill a piece of bread, top it with a little leftover corn and a few slabs of tomato. You’ll love it. I know this. What are you waiting for? Put those tomatoes to good use. Time’s a tickin’!
And we’re off!
Chop the red onion.
Take a garlic clove and smash it with a knife. Add a pinch of salt on top and make a paste.
With the back of your knife, you’re gonna keep smashing/pressing the garlic until it looks like this.
Put the red onion, vinegar, olive oil & garlic in a jar. Add a pinch of pepper & salt.
Toast coriander seeds in a dry skillet. Put it in a spice grinder. GRIND!
Add the coriander powder & cayenne pepper to the vinaigrette. SHAKE.
Slice up the tomatoes.
Lay them in a dish. Sprinkle with salt.
Sprinkle the top with the little tomatoes. I cut mine in half.
Pour the dressing on top.
Yum.
Chop up the cilantro.
Mix it in with the tomatoes.
Definitely not salsa. Definitely wonderful tasting.
Tomatoes with Coriander Vinaigrette
(recipe adapted from Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis)
Serves 6-8
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
- 1 garlic glove, smashed to a paste with a little salt
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- pinch of cayenne
- 2 lbs. ripe tomatoes, various sizes & colors
- 1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
In a small bowl, mix the vinaigrette, staring with the onion, garlic, vinegar and salt & pepper. Stir in the olive oil. Alternately, put all of the ingredients in a jar and seal with a lid & shake!
Toast the coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant. Transfer to an electric spice grinder or a mortar and grind/pound to a powder. Stir into the vinaigrette and add the cayenne.
Cut the tomatoes into thick slices and arrange in a random pattern on a large serving platter. Lightly season with salt. Just before serving, spoon the vinaigrette on top of the tomatoes and top with chopped cilantro leaves.
