I use tomatoes in probably 95% of the meals I make. They might be in the main dish, or they might be on the side, but they will definitely be there somewhere. And if they they aren’t, that’s because I ate them while I was cooking and there are none left. What I’m trying to say is that I really like tomatoes.
So if there’s one salad I can’t live without, it’s tomato salad. And of all the tomato salads out there, my tomato, spring onion and parsley salad is the best. So delicious and yet so so simple!
This is such a versatile side dish. Sometimes I pile it high and have it as a quick healthy lunch with a serving of chickpeas on top, sometimes I load onto a fresh olive bread as a bruschetta, and sometimes it’s a tasty accompaniment to roasted cauliflower or another gorgeous main.
Quality ingredients are key because it’s such a simple recipe. I’m talking about juicy, red, sweet, ripe tomatoes here. I usually try to get the beef tomatoes that are packaging free and they usually smell and taste pretty great as well as being better for the environment.
If you don’t have a good quality bottle of balsamic, you really do need one in your life! A good quality balsamic is thick and sweet, and actually doesn’t really taste like vinegar. A REALLY good quality balsamic is so sweet that it can be drizzled on strawberries (what?!). The best bottles will set you back a pretty penny, but believe me when I tell you that it’s worth investing – a little goes a long way, and this will really make the difference to the taste.
Ingredients for 2-3 servings (depending how hungry you are):
12-14 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 generous bunch of parsley, finely chopped
2 spring onions, sliced, including the leafy end
a glug of olive oil
a drizzle of balsamic
Salt and pepper to taste
The Method
All you need to do is to chop the tomatoes and spring onion, finely chop the parsley, including the stalks, and mix together with a little extra virgin olive oil (or you can leave this out is you are cutting out oil, which is much better for your health!) and a drizzle of sweet balsamic vinegar, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Hope you enjoy this healthy salad as much as I do!
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