Recipe: Late Summer Tomato Salad With Feta and Herbs
The main point of the "recipe" is to buy local tomatoes and add stuff that brings out their flavor.
This week’s recipe is less a recipe than a gentle nudge or encouragement. When you buy locally you can see for yourself that our local tomatoes are at peak deliciousness. I’m just suggesting that with a couple of thoughtful additions —in this case feta, herbs and fresh green chilis — your tomato game can reach new heights. It is always visually exciting to select different shapes and colors of tomatoes. If you are lucky enough to find heirloom varieties you will be rewarded with as much flavor and texture diversity as you have when selecting different kinds of apples: some are tarter, more floral or sweeter than others.
Late Summer Tomato Salad with Feta and Herbs
Serves 4
1 ½ to 2 pounds of assorted local tomatoes, sliced
1 green chili, thinly sliced crosswise, avoiding the majority of the seeds
Course sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup crumbled local feta
½ cup torn fresh herbs: any combination of basil, mint, cilantro, tarragon, thyme
Arrange the sliced tomatoes on a festive platter. Scatter the sliced chili over the tomatoes, season lightly with the salt and pepper. Dot the tomatoes with the crumbled feta. This can all be done up to an hour ahead of serving as the salt and the brininess of the feta help soften and lightly marinate the tomatoes.
Add the torn fresh herbs just as serving.
