Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons

by Dorothy Reinhold on July 5, 2015


Print This Post Print This Post Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons | Summer's perfect tomato salad recipe | ShockinglyDelicious.com

Grilled Cheese Croutons — what fun! — dress up a lovely heirloom tomato salad with a lemony vinaigrette that’s sparked with a secret ingredient.

Perfectly ripe and juicy heirloom tomatoes, in all their beautiful summer finery, need very little to bring out their intrinsic glory.

A little salt, a little pepper, and away you go.

That’s the theory behind today’s super simple salad.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons | Summer's perfect tomato salad recipe | ShockinglyDelicious.com Those colorful tomatoes, dressed simply with an olive oil vinaigrette, and made more lunch-like with some grilled cheese croutons. What could be better?

How to make Grilled Cheese Croutons for your Heirloom Tomato Salad

Heirloom tomatoes in a white bowl on ShockinglyDelicious.comPick the tomatoes (lucky you if you get to pick them from the yard; still lucky if you can pick them from the farmers market).

Ingredients for grilled cheese croutons on ShockinglyDelicious.comGather the ingredients for croutons, and by croutons, I actually mean grilled cheese sandwiches. But today we’re calling them croutons, because they will sit atop a salad. Let me have my little quirks, OK?

Assembling grilled cheese sandwiches with challah and cheese on ShockinglyDelicious.comCut thick slices of challah bread (or use your favorite bread). Cut slabs of Kerrygold Dubliner cheese (or use your favorite). Make sandwiches.

2 sandwiches in the panini maker on ShockinglyDelicious.comSlap them together and grill in a panini maker until toasted on the outside and melty on the inside.

Dubliner Grilled Cheese Sandwich on a red plate on ShockinglyDelicious.comLet them cool just a bit before cutting into squares for croutons.

Lunch is served! Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons.

You don’t really need a recipe for this…I trust you to make it to your own liking. But I’ll give you one anyway, because I like to make sure even the most inexperienced cook can be successful. I have great confidence in you…you can do it!

And if you do it, be sure to send me a picture of your creation!

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons | Summer's perfect tomato salad recipe | ShockinglyDelicious.com

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Cheese Croutons -- what fun! -- dress up a lovely heirloom tomato salad with a lemony vinaigrette that's sparked with a secret ingredient.

Ingredients

  • Croutons
  • 4 thick slices challah bread (or your favorite)
  • Sliced Kerrygold Dubliner cheese (or your favorite)
  • Butter (optional)
  • .
  • Salad
  • 4 large heirloom tomatoes
  • Meyer Lemon Vanilla Salad Dressing (or your favorite vinaigrette)

Directions

  1. Make croutons: Assemble 2 sandwiches with cheese in the middle and grill in panini maker until outside is golden and cheese melts. (Some people like to butter the outside of the sandwiches before grilling. I don't, but suit yourself as to your own preference). Remove from grill and allow sandwiches to cool for a couple of minutes, so the cheese doesn't escape when you cut them.
  2. Make salad: Cut each tomato in half at the equator, and if there are large seed pockets exposed, use your finger to flick out the seeds and mucilaginous stuff and discard it. (I'll wait while you look up mucilaginous.) If the pockets are very small, don't bother. Dice tomatoes and add to 4 flat, wide salad bowls, making sure to get a nice mix of each color tomato in each bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette.
  3. Cut the sandwiches into small squares, and poke with a toothpick or a pick. Add crouton picks to the salads.
  4. Serves 4.

Notes

Recipe source: Dorothy Reinhold | Shockingly Delicious

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/heirloom-tomato-salad-with-grilled-cheese-croutons/

Note on the cute sandwich picks

Handmade Heart Skewer from Restaurantware.comSee the picks in the photos, which I have used to spear the grilled cheese croutons? I got them from Restaurantware.com, a wonderful resource for a variety of serving ware that can spice up your family table. They have a new emphasis on sustainable, eco-friendly tableware, ranging from paper goods like straws or decorated paper bags to bamboo plates and little cones and “boats” that look cute for salad. The Handmade Red Heart Bamboo Skewers are 1,000 to a box, for $79.99. They’re 4.75 inches tall. They lend a little romantic air to a dish, and I have a few tucked away for Valentine’s Day, our anniversary, and other similar occasions. How about for a wedding, too? They’d go well spearing a little fruit kebab, or deconstructed caprese salad on a skewer, right? Let your imagination run a little wild on how to use these.

Looking for more sandwiches?

French Ham and Butter Sandwich on a baguette with grapes alongsideFrench Ham and Butter Sandwich

Hatch Grilled Cheese Sandwiches cut in triangles and stacked on their side on a white platter Hatch Chile Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Disclosure: Kerrygold sent the cheese for recipe development. Restaurantware.com sent the picks.

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{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }

Susan | LunaCafe July 7, 2015 at 8:59 pm

Beautiful! Love the grilled cheese croutons. 🙂

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:38 pm

Thank you Susan!

Reply

Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking and More July 7, 2015 at 9:06 am

Dorothy, what a delicious lunch! Do you deliver? I have great memories eating the fresh, warm tomatoes from my grandfather’s garden when I was little – can’t wait until ours are ready this year!
And those skewers, I haven’t seen anything like them!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:39 pm

Lynne,
Thank you! The skewers are so fun!

Reply

Kristina July 7, 2015 at 8:55 am

what a FUN salad! I am loving the heirlooms right now, oh so good. these croutons are great!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:39 pm

Kristina,
The heirloom tomatoes….so, so great.

Reply

Dee Dee (My Midlife Kitchen) July 7, 2015 at 8:37 am

This is genius! Why haven’t I thought of this! I LOVE this idea–what a fun twist on both the sandwich AND the salad! Can’t wait to try this out!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:40 pm

Dee Dee,
I felt the same way…why had I never thought of that before? D’oh…

Reply

Liz @ I Heart Vegetables July 7, 2015 at 7:53 am

I’ve never used the word “cute” to describe croutons… but these are so stinkin’ cute!!! 🙂

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:41 pm

Liz,
They ARE! STINKIN’ DARLIN’ croutons!

Reply

Julia July 7, 2015 at 7:52 am

This is such a fun appetizer or kid snack idea! I just love those grilled cheese croutons. I will have lots of tomatoes hopefully coming this summer, so I am going to try this for my son!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:41 pm

Julia,
Snap a pic and show me what YOURS looks like!

Reply

Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons July 6, 2015 at 7:11 pm

I am so ready for some heirloom tomatoes this summer, but I got to the farmer’s market too late last weekend. Shoot. I love this recipe, Dorothy! I could see serving it as a party appetizer, maybe in individual cups or mason jars.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 6:07 am

Lori,
Love the individual servings idea!

Reply

Shelby | Diabetic Foodie July 6, 2015 at 8:25 am

I love the croutons! And thanks for adding to my vocabulary.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:09 am

Shelby,
Ha! It’s not exactly a food word, eh?

Reply

Alice July 6, 2015 at 7:32 am

Haha, your “croutons” are super cute and so clever! 🙂 Love the presentation too, Dorothy!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:09 am

Thank you Alice!

Reply

Julie @ Texan New Yorker July 6, 2015 at 5:44 am

This is awesome! Heirlooms are just coming into season where I live (still a tad mushy – boo) so I’m really looking forward to using them in a few more weeks! I’ll have to try this adorable lunch salad!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:11 am

Julie,
Here they’ll be even better come August/Sept. Cannot wait!

Reply

Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom July 6, 2015 at 5:17 am

Simple tomato salads are the best–but adding grilled cheese croutons–this is killer good!!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:11 am

Kristen,
I don’t know why this simple idea didn’t occur to me earlier. D’oh…

Reply

Sara July 5, 2015 at 11:51 pm

The croutons are such a great idea! Did you really have to buy 1,000 picks?! What are you going to do with the rest of them :)?

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:12 am

Sara,
I probably have about 100. I agree, 1,000 would be A LOT! Unless you owned a catering biz or a restaurant, in which case you would whip through them.

Reply

Michelle @ The Complete Savorist July 5, 2015 at 11:18 pm

I love those little croutons, but I’d probably not get them all the way cut up before I ate them all.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:13 am

Michelle,
I did feel that I had to eat all the little ugly end pieces, lest they ruin my photo. 🙂

Reply

Kacey @ The Cookie Writer July 5, 2015 at 9:44 pm

This is so cute and a great way to encourage kids to eat their veggies! Personally, I would not want to share it with my daughter because it looks THAT good, haha. But I guess I could share a little…

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:13 am

Thank you Kacey. Make 2 bowls!

Reply

Florian @ContentednessCooking July 5, 2015 at 6:37 pm

This looks delicious, perfect for summer gatherings!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 5, 2015 at 8:29 pm

Thank you Florian!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 6, 2015 at 9:10 am

Oh @Melaniemakes, thank you so much!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:43 pm

RecipeGirl,
Thank you!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold July 7, 2015 at 9:42 pm

Barb,
I know the feeling. It is hard to keep away from the heirlooms…

Reply

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