My dad also loved a slice of tomato with salt, white pepper (I discovered black pepper only as a teen in the big city, Joburg) and raw onion. Sometimes it would accompany some sliced tongue or Bull Brand corned meat and brown bread. The things we ate.
My mother was very good at making sure we ate our vegetables and she made a veggie yummy. Salads were a standard at our family meal table and a chopped tomato featured heavily — I was not always a fan. Cherry tomatoes were a discovery of our Joburg years when we moved to the city of mine dumps and discoveries.
It’s no surprise I like a salad. I prefer more involved and layered kinds, but when I realised we had mistakenly grown too many tomatoes in the veggie patch, my zero-waste energy was ignited. I sliced up some red onion, went in search of some fresh fior di latte cheese, the freshest of basil leaves and this simple salad was born to adorn our lunch table again.
For Food Sake
You say tomato...
The salad is an ode to summer and special times as we prepare to bid the warmth goodbye
Image: Supplied
I’ve been craving tomatoes lately. Thinking of a fruit salad with tomatoes. I’m not sure I liked the fruit as a kid, but my adult self loves a little bit of fresh tomato.
Truth is, I’ve always been a kid fond of non-sweet flavours, usually going for tart. I loved Indian tonic as a child, it was my five-year-old tipple of choice. Ha ha! I remember toasting with my dad — my tonic to his double whiskey in his office in the early evening after school.
Perhaps he is the reason behind my refined kiddie palate. He taught me how to cook. He had a French cookbook and we started on things such as onion soup and dishes that had inordinate amounts of red wine. It’s so funny thinking about it now. I just remember standing on a chair and him saying “pour more”. They call these core memories.
A potato salad with a difference
My dad also loved a slice of tomato with salt, white pepper (I discovered black pepper only as a teen in the big city, Joburg) and raw onion. Sometimes it would accompany some sliced tongue or Bull Brand corned meat and brown bread. The things we ate.
My mother was very good at making sure we ate our vegetables and she made a veggie yummy. Salads were a standard at our family meal table and a chopped tomato featured heavily — I was not always a fan. Cherry tomatoes were a discovery of our Joburg years when we moved to the city of mine dumps and discoveries.
It’s no surprise I like a salad. I prefer more involved and layered kinds, but when I realised we had mistakenly grown too many tomatoes in the veggie patch, my zero-waste energy was ignited. I sliced up some red onion, went in search of some fresh fior di latte cheese, the freshest of basil leaves and this simple salad was born to adorn our lunch table again.
Image: cookieandkate.com / pinterest
Keeping it simple and fresh is nostalgic for me. There are so many ingredients we did not grow up with in the Eastern Cape, but like it says in a book I read recently, The Secrets of Italian Self Care, “simple, fresh produce and sharing it with close loved ones is the recipe to full and fulfilling living”.
Ingredients:
Method:
Serve straight away in one of your best dishes. This salad is a visual triumph with its beautiful colours, so a white bowl or platter works best. The flavours are delicious and seep through. Serve with meat or fish and some crusty bread. Save some of the bread for the next day and make delicious olive oil-soaked croutons and throw them into the mix for a panzanella. Whichever way you make it, it keeps well and is a crowd favourite.
Enjoy this delicious, seasonal salad of summer and special times in a beautiful bowl.
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