I had a little Middle Eastern inspired dinner party last weekend and true to form, I had too many bubbles and forgot to photograph the main event. It happens Every. Single. Time. I will be making the main event again as it was a divine Spiced Lamb Backstrap with Yoghurt & Preserved Lemon Salsa Verde but for now you will just have to settle for this gloriously fresh and super simple Tomato Salad that took literally minutes to make.
The key to this amazingly simple Middle Eastern inspired side is in the produce. You need quality tomatoes for this to be next level amazing. So head to your local farmers market or specialty grocer and spend the money on a good amount of delicious heirloom varieties that have loads of colour and flavour. The fleshy, meaty, sweet & juicy homegrown type. It is seriously worth it and come on! It is the Festive Tomato season…..
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Marinating time: 1 hour
$$ Medium Budget
Serves 6-8 as a side
1 kg of good quality Heirloom variety tomatoes in varying colours, chopped into random biggish chunks
1 red onion, thinly sliced into rounds, separated with your hands
1 heaped tbs of ground sumac
3 tbs of Extra Virgin olive Oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 a cup of dill sprigs, torn
Sea salt & cracked pepper
To make the Tomato Salad, place the Sumac, olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk to combine. Place the onion rounds in the bowl, toss to combine and set aside to marinate for a good hour. the onions will go soft and a gorgeous bright purple in colour.
Just before serving toss the onions through the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and place in a decorative ceramic bowl and scatter over the torn dill sprigs. It is that simple.
If you have Dill leftover you may like to cook this delicious breakfast dish. Perfect for after a night on the bubbles. Trust me, I know!
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