It’s September, which means that we are nearing the end of peach and tomato seasons. Although tomato was the theme when this article was originally published, this week’s theme now is peaches. Much like the tomatoes in the recipe, the peaches shine as well. Make this salad while both pieces of produce are available locally; you’ll be glad you did.
The original post from August 2015
This week’s featured ingredient is the tomato. My favorite roadside stand seems to be overflowing with these beautiful gems. As such summer is my favorite time to work with fresh tomatoes. Once they aren’t local, they lose all of their best attributes: color, smell, taste. So, as I bow down to the greatness of locally grown tomatoes, I find it difficult to transform them from their raw state. They are perfect as they are.
I pondered how to best showcase this ingredient; I knew that I wanted it to be simple. Driving back and forth on my town’s main thoroughfare, I saw a farm advertising local peaches. At that moment I knew, a composed salad of two local ingredients would be how I feature tomatoes.
With both peaches and tomatoes available freshly picked, it simply became a matter of determining what other flavors and ingredients to include. I kept this salad simple, light, and elegant. In fact, it probably is more worthy of a Tapas Monday than my weekday lunch, but that just gives me a reason to make it again. Soon.
For a heartier dish, you could serve this salad on a bed of greens and top it with some toasted pecans or ciliegine (tiny mozzarella balls). Whatever you do, don’t overdress this salad. Let the peaches and tomatoes speak for themselves.
Fresh Peach & Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 tomato cored
- 1 peach pit removed
- balsamic vinegar*
- salt & pepper
- 6-8 mint leaves minced
Instructions
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Cut tomato and peach into similar sized wedges, approximately 8 per piece of produce.
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Lay on plate, alternating peach slice, tomato slice.
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Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
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Season with salt and pepper.
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Top with minced mint.
Notes
