Print This Post
I’ve been known to over-plant tomatoes in my small backyard vegetable garden. I see the tiny plants in the spring, and they all beckon me, with promises of different ripening times, different colors and different flavors. I want them all. I can envision them all in different fabulous dishes.
And sometimes I buy them all.
So it was one year I planted Sweet 100, Sweet Million, Black Cherry Tomato and Orange Sunburst Cherry Tomato plants. By the end of summer, I was cherry tomato-ed out! Well, that’s a tiny lie. I can always eat more cherry toms, and I’ve never met a neighbor who turned them down. So bring them on, the more the merrier!
And so I always collect recipes using fresh tomatoes. One year I had tasted a wonderful Moroccan Tomato and Preserved Lemon Salad at a food blogger potluck for Mother’s Day, and I remembered how tasty it was. You know when a dish sticks in your memory that long, there is no escaping it. You must make it.
That’s this easy salad. Only a couple of ingredients, and it’s vegan and gluten-free and all that stuff. It can sit out on a buffet or picnic table without concern, and it tastes best at room temperature, so no need to fuss over keeping it refrigerated until the last minute.
Wait, what are preserved lemons?
If you’ve never tasted preserved lemons, they are a tiny miracle. They’re simply salted pickled lemons that cure in a jar, untouched, until voila! one day you uncap them and unleash their genius in your salad, with your roast chicken, or wherever you need a salty, lemony spark. I have an easy recipe for Preserved Lemons you can make yourself, or you can buy a jar in a specialty food store
Yes, I over-planted tomatoes again this year. No, I am not sorry!
You must make this Cherry Tomato and Preserved Lemon Salad .
Recipe: Cherry Tomato and Preserved Lemon Salad
Summary: Sweet from the cherry tomatoes, salty from the preserved lemon, with a kick from the Hatch chiles, this salad is a perfect summer salad.
Ingredients
- About 20 ounces of cherry tomatoes (64 cherry tomatoes – I counted!)
- 2 Hatch chiles, roasted, skinned, stemmed, seeded and chopped (or substitute roasted diced green chiles or pepperoncini)
- 2 tablespoons finely minced preserved lemon rind
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Grinding of fresh pepper
Instructions
- Slice cherry tomatoes in half and add to large bowl. Add chiles, lemon, garlic, oil and a grinding of fresh pepper and stir to combine.
- Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking, adding more pepper if you like, and a pinch of salt only if needed. The preserved lemons are salty so you probably won’t need additional salt.
- Serves 4.
- This is wonderful freshly made, and also good the next day as leftovers. Refrigerate.
Quick notes
Preserved lemons have been cured in salt. You may make your own, very simply, or buy them in a specialty foods store or Middle Eastern market.
Recipe source
Completely inspired by my pal Nancy Eisman from Adventures with Nancy Rose. I lightly adapted her recipe and made a few tweaks to suit myself. Please do the same when you make it at your house! Tweaking is not only allowed, but appreciated!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Diet type: Vegetarian, Vegan
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern
My rating
If you like this recipe and want to save it, pin the image below to your Pinterest board.
Want even more tomato recipes? For 90+ more recipes with tomatoes, see our Food Bloggers L.A. Tomato and Zucchini summer roundup!
Welcome to my kitchen!
At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
E-mail me: Dorothy.Reinhold@gmail.com
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Next Comments →
OMG!!!!!! I’m making it now!
I love this ..has all the flavors I love and I have all the ingredients on hand. YUM!
Looks like a winner! #inspired to use lemon preserves =) P.s. I always think of you as I pour my sugar with vanilla beans.
Ninja,
I predict you will be fascinated by preserved lemons, once you taste them! And oh yes, vanilla sugar. It’s the answer to everything! 🙂
I’ve been meaning to make some preserved lemons. Now, I have to so I can make this salad.
Christie,
This salad is a perfect excuse!
This is a perfect summer recipe in my book!
This is absolutely beautiful Dorothy. I love everything about the freshness of this salad. YUM!
Thank you Nicole! Sometimes the simplest things turn out the best, right?
LOVE this. Thanks for sharing at this week’s Sugar Free Sunday. Great inspiration to start the week refined sugar free!
Thanks for linking this in to Food on Friday. Cheers
Hi there. Food on Friday: Lemons and Limes is now open for entries. This looks like a neat one! I do hope you link it in. This is the link . Cheers
PS I am following you now on Google Reader. If you like Carole’s Chatter it would be great if you followed me back.
I have linked this up to Foodie Friends Friday at http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com/foodie-friends-friday-linky-party-12/
Hi Dorothy. Thank you for linking this delicious recipe up to Foodie Friends Friday. We are happy you participated but would love it if you would mention your link up somewhere in your post. If I missed it, I apologize.
Thanks again
I have preserved lemons that I made sitting in my refrigerator with nothing to do. I have heaps of tomatoes growing outside and this recipes looks like my perfect solution. Thank you.
Cathy,
Serendipity!
Lovely Cherry Tomato and Preserved Lemon Salad. My Wife & my Granny loved it.
Did you preserve the lemons yourself. I tried it last year and didn’t love the results. I was hoping you had a trick. GREG
Greg,
I DID preserve them myself! No big trick. I used Meyer lemons, scrubbed, dried, cut them into quarters, packed them into small jars with lots of kosher salt between the layers, pressing on the lemons to extract their juice. A final thick layer of kosher salt on top (no lemon showing). Put the jar in a paper bag in the dark pantry for 3 weeks. Voila! For use, I peeled off and discarded the flesh, rinsed the quarter lemon rind well, and minced it very finely for the salad.
Yum! Do you prefer the hot Hatch chiles or the milder ones for this?
Faye,
Personally, I prefer the mild Hatch. I think you can always ADD more heat if you need to, but it is difficult to remove chile heat. Right?
Of course. I discussed chiles with Chef Michel Ohayon of Koutoubia when he was making harissa, specifically how inconsistent they are in the amount of heat. He said if the chiles come out too mild for the flavor he’s looking for, he adjusts with cayenne.
Sounds and looks amazing!
Connie,
Oh yes, it is! You must make it!
Good post, thank you!