This salad is light and refreshing, filled with fresh tomatoes, cucumber and red onion,  and a two-ingredient dressing — perfect for a casual dinner or for feeding a crowd. It’s an easy salad that takes literally 15 minutes to prep and is ready to eat in 30 minutes.

Serve this tomato, cucumber, red onion salad next to grilled or roasted meats or fish. It’s great with beef, chicken kabobs, pork tenderloin or grilled salmon.

With all the fresh delicious tomatoes and cucumbers being produced in our own Essex County, this salad is a must try. I love taking a ride out into the county and buying the plentiful produce the area has to offer. Thank you to all who produce for us.  My farm-to-table recipes are how I do my part in helping to support local.

TIP:
Do not refrigerate your tomatoes — flavours are golden if you keep these sweet, plump, red beauties on your counter in a bowl.

Tomato Cucumber Salad

Recipe: appetizer, lunch, side dish

Ingredients

Salad:

5 tomatoes
(Mastronardi H&A Farms Ltd.)
1/4 C red onion
1 cucumber
(Mastronardi H&A Farms Ltd.)

Dressing:

1/4 C EVOO extra virgin olive oil
salt
1 garlic clove minced (optional)

Bread is a tasty accompaniment:
loaf of bread
(Mancini Italia Bakery)

Instructions:

1) Add chopped tomatoes, cucumber and red onion  to a medium-size bowl.

2) Pour EVOO over salad and gently toss. Season with salt and toss to mix.

3) Serve immediately.

Best served at room temperature. Can be stored in the refrigerator for two days.

The best part of this salad is the sweet tasty juice at the bottom of the bowl.  Ensure that  you have a loaf of bread ready to do the “scarpetta.”

Fare la scarpetta, in Italian translated as “to do the little shoe,” is the very charming act of using a small piece of bread to mop up the wonderful sauce or juices on your plate that you cannot possibly leave behind.

You can find more delicious recipes at @r.b.m.cooking 

All photos provided by Rosa Basile-Marrello