{"id":2576,"date":"2015-07-06T12:35:11","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T11:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=2576"},"modified":"2015-07-06T13:12:03","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T12:12:03","slug":"greek-style-tomato-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=2576","title":{"rendered":"Greek-Style Tomato Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is just one of many, many<\/em> tomato salads I make over the course the summer. \u00a0I love them. \u00a0It probably has something to do with the Sunday afternoon trips down my Grandad Dowton’s crazy paved garden path to pick tomatoes from his greenhouse. \u00a0Always supervised. \u00a0(It wasn’t, you must know, the kind of garden you were allowed to play in. \u00a0Wide flower beds were planted, Victorian style, with high maintenance bedding plants all lovingly raised from seed.)<\/em><\/p>\n

I loved that strong, sweet smell of summer as you opened the greenhouse door. \u00a0Then, my brother and I would giggle over the irregular shaped ones before being given a warm tomato each to eat on the way back to the kitchen.<\/p>\n

\"Greek-style<\/a><\/p>\n

This Greek-Style Tomato Salad isn’t anything my grandparents would have served. \u00a0I’m not sure if they ever tasted feta cheese and I’m certain they didn’t eat olives.<\/p>\n

When you think about it they wouldn’t have been brought up on tomatoes. \u00a0The Victorians thought they caused illness unless you boiled them into submission. \u00a0Tomatoes only became a regular part of the British diet during the food rationing of the Second World War when any source of vitamin C was a good thing.<\/p>\n

\"Greek<\/a><\/p>\n

For all we think we’re so much more sophisticated with our food choices now, supermarkets sell some tasteless tomatoes. \u00a0On the vine or off it, they’re picked green and left to ripen. \u00a0I’m not convinced it’s worth paying the extra money charged for the on-the-vine sort and am absolutely certain there’s no point buying anything that has been transported miles in refrigerated storage units.<\/p>\n

Mine came from a local farmers’ market, but the best tomatoes of all are the ones you grow yourself. \u00a0Second best, are the excess garden produce you sometimes see placed on tables by front gates.<\/p>\n

Here’s the entire cast of characters of my salad, minus the feta which is still tucked in the fridge. \u00a0I made this on 1 July and that was a record breaking warm day and my kitchen is South facing. \u00a0It was hot.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoes<\/a><\/p>\n

The round salad tomato is fine. \u00a0Don’t put them in the fridge and store root end down. \u00a0I have absolutely no idea why that works, but stem end down keeps them better. \u00a0When you come to use them, if there’s any decay you should throw the entire tomato away. \u00a0No just cutting off the rotten bit.<\/p>\n

For a salad like this, I like the skins off. \u00a0Put a saucepan of water on to the boil and cut a shallow cross in the base end of the tomato. You’ll find it easier if you use a serrated knife – a bread knife is fine!<\/p>\n

\"tomatoes<\/a><\/p>\n

When the water is boiling, pop the tomatoes in for 30 seconds. \u00a01 minute, tops.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoes<\/a><\/p>\n

Drain, then put the tomatoes into a bowl of cold water.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoes<\/a><\/p>\n

The skins peel off.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoes<\/a><\/p>\n

There they are.<\/p>\n

\"tomatoes<\/a><\/p>\n

Cut into quarters and slice out the core.<\/p>\n

\"tomato<\/a><\/p>\n

Then into bite sized crescents.<\/p>\n

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Season with sea salt and crushed black peppercorns. \u00a0A little sugar will help sweeten if you’re not entirely convinced they’re sufficiently sun-kissed.<\/p>\n

Then, cover and leave to ‘settle’ for an hour. \u00a0I had a fly in the kitchen and spent the next ten minutes or so darting about the kitchen with a dampened tea towel in my hand. \u00a0I got the blighter.<\/p>\n

\"spring<\/a><\/p>\n

Wash, trim any straggly green bits and chop off the roots.<\/p>\n

\"spring<\/a><\/p>\n

And slice.<\/p>\n

\"flat<\/a><\/p>\n

Roughly chop a bunch of flat-leaf parsley.<\/p>\n

\"fresh<\/a><\/p>\n

Some fresh oregano, if you have it. \u00a0Just the leaves and roughly chop.<\/p>\n

\"olives\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I love olives. \u00a0Like Globe Artichokes<\/a>, I met them in my twenties and thought they were so sophisticated. \u00a0Yes, I hated my first olive – but I worked at it. \u00a0Now I pop them like sweets.<\/p>\n

These are Kalamata olives and I buy them stone in. \u00a0You don’t need a fancy olive stoner. \u00a0I just cut mine in half and ease any stubborn stones out with the tip of my knife.<\/p>\n

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When it’s time to serve, start layering everything up. \u00a0Add the spring onions.<\/p>\n

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Parsley, oregano and olives.<\/p>\n

\"Feta<\/a><\/p>\n

Not all feta is equal. \u00a0I look for barrel-aged feta made from sheep or goat milk and buy in a block which I store in brine. \u00a0(The best feta I’ve ever eaten was made at home by a Greek lady living in London, so under EU rules I’m not even sure she could call it feta.)<\/p>\n

If you want to tone down the salty edge, you can soak your feta block in a half milk\/half water for an hour.<\/p>\n

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Crumble in the feta and dried oregano.<\/p>\n

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Add olive oil, lemon zest and the juice of a lemon.<\/p>\n

\"Greek<\/a><\/p>\n

Give everything a mix. \u00a0Eat.<\/p>\n

\"Greek<\/a>Greek-Style Greek Salad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Serves 8<\/em><\/p>\n