Sliced Tomato Salad With Ten Variations Pt 1

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

A recipe for this style of salad is not really necessary; you just
need to keep a few simple rules in mind. First of all, choose 2  medium
or 1 large tomato per person, more if the salad will be the  main part
of the meal. Many chefs consider it essential that you peel  the
tomato, but I don't make this a hard and fast rule. When I am  making a
simple tomato salad for myself, I don't peel the tomatoes.  Nor do I
peel a bushel of tomatoes when I'm serving a group of a 100  if the
tomatoes are of the best quality. Thicker-skinned tomatoes  have been
developed for commercial reasons, for the ease of storage  and
shipping, and these should be peeled (actually, they should not  be
used at all). Salads starring unpeeled tomatoes offer up summer's
simplest, rustic pleasures; but if your tastes are more refined, feel
free to peel them.  Next, you must slice the tomato through its equator
not through its  poles - ~- that is horizontally, not vertically. You
are making  slices, not wedges. If you look at a tomato as a tiny
globe, its  blossom end is the south pole, the stem end the north pole.
Its fat  middle is the center, its equator. Cut the tomato in 1/4-inch
slices  parallel with the equator. Discard the pole ends and arrange
the  thick slices on a plate or platter.  Drizzle your sliced tomatoes
with a little extra-virgin olive oil and  add a sprinkling of kosher
salt and a freshly ground black pepper. Be  sure to have plenty of
good, crusty bread on hand to soak up the  delicious juices that gather
on the plate. And, finally, vary the  color and variety of the tomatoes
in each salad for a more visually  striking and more delicious effect.
Basic Recipe:  Arrange the sliced tomatoes on 1 large or 4 individual
plates.  Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Let
the  salad rest for 10 or 15 minutes so that the flavors can mingle,
but  be sure to serve it within an hour of preparation.  Variations
Italian Parsley & Garlic: Sprinkle 2 or 3 cloves of crushed and minced
garlic and 3 tablespoons of minced fresh Italian parsley over the
tomatoes before adding the olive oil.  Italian Parsley, Garlic, &
Grated Cheese: Sprinkle 2 or 3 cloves of  crushed and minced garlic, 3
tablespoons of minced fresh Italian  parsley over the tomatoes before
adding the olive oil. Scatter 2  ounces of grated hard cheese (Dry
Jack, Parmigiano, Romano, or aged  Asiago) over the tomatoes after the
olive oil has been added.  Tomatoes with Shaved Parmegiano and Garlic:
Sprinkle 2 cloves of  crushed and minced garlic over the tomatoes
before adding the olive  oil. Using a vegetable peeler, make 15 to 20
curls of imported  Parmigiano cheese and scatter them over the
tomatoes.  Mozzarella Fresca & Fresh Basil: Tuck 8 slices (about 4
ounces) of  mozzarella fresca here and there between the slices of
tomato before  adding the olive oil. Cut 10 to 12 leaves of fresh basil
into very  thin, lengthwise strips and scatter them over the surface of
the  salad.  Peppers & Cucumbers: Before adding the olive oil, scatter
2 or 3  cloves of crushed and minced garlic over the tomatoes. Cut 2
medium  or 1 large lemon cucumber into very thin slices and tuck them
in  between slices of tomatoes. Cut 1 medium-sized, medium-hot pepper,
such as a pasilla, into thin rounds and tuck them here and there
between the tomatoes and cucumbers.  Lemons: Slice 1 lemon (Meyer's, if
available) very thinly and tuck the  slices here and there in between
the slices of tomato before adding  the olive oil.  continued in part 2

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: <1
Calories From Fat: <1
Total Fat: <1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 70.5mg
Potassium: 2.7mg
Carbohydrates: <1g
Fiber: <1g
Sugar: <1g
Protein: <1g