Heirloom Tomato Salad with Pesto

This is the BEST summer salad side dish showcasing juicy seasonal tomatoes. We used heirloom but any ripe tomatoes you can get your hands on will work. The best part of this salad is that most ingredients can come straight from your pantry. Capers, olives, and pickled shallots take a simple salad from zero to hero, providing bursts of tang, texture, and crunch to balance the pure sweet joy of a ripe summer tomato. As with many salads, this one is super flexible, and you can improvise. If you are working with high quality ingredients you can’t lose!

We used some of our favourite organic staples from the Wholesome pantry including Ceres Organic Capers, Dijon Mustard and Pesto, and Mount Zero Kalamata Olives. Our Wholesome Extra Virgin Olive Oil has the perfect amount of fruitiness to perfect this salad.

Time: 15 minutes

Yields: 4-6 sides

Ingredients

1kg (approximately 5-6) heirloom tomatoes or tomatoes of your choice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (or sub red wine or sherry vinegar)
½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
Lime juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon pine nuts, lightly toasted (optional)
½ cup kalamata olives
1 tablespoon capers (roughly chopped)
A few sprigs of fresh basil
100g crumbly feta cheese
3-4 tablespoons pesto (optional)
Flaky sea salt (to taste)

Method

Place the shallot in a small bowl with the lime juice and toss. Set aside.
Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl to make the dressing.
Slice the tomatoes and add to the bowl with the dressing. Add the capers and olives, gently toss.
If using pine nuts, heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a small skillet and add the pine nuts, toss to coat in the oil. Lightly toast for a couple of minutes, tossing them once or twice, until they are light brown. Remove the nuts from the pan and set them aside in a small bowl to cool.
Using a large shallow serving dish, plate, or bowl, spoon the pesto onto the base and spread evenly. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the dish.
If you are using them, sprinkle pine nuts over the top.
Garnish with the shallots (to taste - store any leftovers in an airtight jar for up to 1-2 weeks in the refridgerator). Spread the feta and gently torn basil and flaky salt and freshly ground pepper over the salad.

Notes

We are huge fans of Ceres Organics' Pesto but if you have some extra time on your hands try our pesto recipe - freeze it down in ice cube blocks for easy storage to use later.