Rustic Tomato And Cucumber Salad

As a matter of fact, my 8-year-old daughter made this salad that you see on the pictures all by herself, from peeling and chopping the veggies, to making the dressing and mixing it all together. She was so proud! This is the first dish she had ever made all by herself, and the salad was so good that she received a ton of compliments for it. This salad is a close sibling of the family favorite Tomato, Cucumber and Avocado Salad but without the avocado and with different herbs. Yes, not everyone likes avocado and basil as much as I do, and most people that I know love parsley and cilantro. If you want, you can substitute herbs in this salad for basil. Either way, this salad will impress.

Tips for making this cucumber and tomato salad

When picking tomatoes for this salad make sure they are aromatic and ripe. Buy the best tomatoes you can find. It will make a huge difference. If the tomatoes are not fully ripe, leave them on a windowsill for a couple of days to ripen. You want them fully ripe, slightly soft, fragrant and juicy. That’s the kind of tomato that makes this cucumber and tomato salad shine. The cucumbers, on the other hand, should be fresh and crunchy, to create a textural contrast to the tomatoes. Speaking about this salad already makes my mouth water. The tomatoes must be cut into large chunks. This may seem crude and lazy, but it makes perfect sense. Large chunks of tomatoes will burst in your mouth with delicious juices, while thinly cut ones won’t impress as much. So, yes, they must be big and chunky. Finally, when making the dressing, use a very good quality olive oil. Not the one that you cook with, but a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Low-quality oil will ruin this otherwise magnificent salad. What does good quality olive oil taste like? Here is a resource from Olive Tomato that describes it very nicely, better than I ever could. Oh, and try this salad with freshly baked no-knead bread, or its sourdough cousin, or the whole wheat sourdough bread for a healthier version. Use the bread to soak in every last drop of the delicious dressing.