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
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments