With a handful of simple ingredients, this tomato and onion salad is a vibrant and flavourful side. With sweet tomatoes and lightly pickled onions, it’s a perfect Summer side for BBQs, potlucks or picnic lunches. Main ingredients: ripe tomatoes, French shallot, basil, vinegar, pine nuts
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
If you love the sweet zing of fresh tomatoes, this is the tomato and onion salad for you. By lightly pickling shallots in white wine vinegar first, this marinated tomato salad achieves a perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavours. Serve it with cashew ricotta on crusty bread or as a fresh side dish with white pizza.
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Why This Tomato Salad Works
This tomato and onion salad is one for the back pocket.
- It’s so simple to make
- We make it with a handful of ingredients.
- This salad is versatile. Add cucumber, avocado, feta, white beans or chickpeas for protein…
- It’s naturally gluten-free
- It’s a lovely homage to the sweet goodness of fresh tomatoes +
- this tomato and onion salad is a little different to other versions because we’ll be lightly pickling the onions. Lightly pickling the onions in vinegar mellows out the onion flavour, creating a balanced salad.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Tomatoes. Go crazy! Today, I’m using a mix of small tomatoes but you can use fresh vine ripened, heirloom or cherry. Or a mixture! Around 4-5 vine-ripened tomatoes will get you to your 600g. This salad works best with ripe, seasonal tomatoes.
Onions. So, here is where a little personal choice comes in. I have made this salad with both red onions and French shallots. The shallot is more delicate and has a slightly sweet, garlicky vibe. The red onion has a more robust in-your-face thing going on. We are not using a tonne, so either works. We are going macerate the onions in vinegar to take the edge off the onion flavour.
Garlic. Just a touch massaged into the tomatoes before the dressing goes on. We are building this salad a little like you would bruschetta topping.
White wine vinegar. Because we are going for a lighter, fresh feel, we’re using white wine vinegar. But if you only have red wine vinegar, use that.
Bon Appetite suggests when choosing a vinegar to think about what kind of wine you’d want to be paired with your dish and choose the vinegar based on that. But if you only have one kind of vinegar on hand, use that.
Salt. Always.
Pepper. Optional but excellent.
Olive oil. Use as good a quality oil as you can manage. Olive oil has slight fruity taste that goes perfectly with the tomatoes.
Basil. Tomato and basil are made for each other. It’s actually science – both basil and tomato contain a volatile compound called Linalool. It’s destiny, baby! And chemistry.
Pine nuts. Optional but buttery, crunchy and delicious. For a twist, you could add chopped smoked walnuts. They are so good.
Step-by-Step Guide
You’ll find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1.
In a small bowl combine the onions and vinegar. Set them aside so the vinegar has time to take some of the astringent flavour out of the onions. We are soaking them to slightly pickle them and make them less in-your-face.
Step 2.
Chop the tomatoes in to different sizes – create texture by cutting halves, quarters and leaving smaller tomatoes whole.
Go ahead and add the tomatoes to a large bowl and gently stir in the garlic.
Step 4.
After the onions and vinegar have been doing their thing for around 5 minutes or so, stir them into the tomatoes. Add the olive oil.
Step 5.
Season well with the salt and some cracked pepper and add the finely sliced basil. If you are adding pine nuts (which I totally recommend), lightly toast them on a dry pan and add them just before serving.
And that’s it! It’s so pretty!
Serving Suggestions & Variations
This is a pretty versatile salad. Serve it
- with crusty bread to mop up all those juices
- as a side to any one of your favourite vegan burgers
- with tofu feta
- next to a big bowl of scrambled tofu for a fresh boost to your breakfast or brunch
- tossed with chickpeas or white beans for protein
What tomatoes are best for this salad?
Any tomatoes will work with this salad. Heirloom tomatoes will make a spectacular centrepiece but a simple red cherry tomato will work too. Just make sure they’re ripe.
How do I tell if a tomato is ripe?
You have to hold a tomato to know if it’s ripe. Cooking is such a tactile business. Large and small tomatoes should be smooth without any pale spots or deep splits. Smaller tomatoes should be firm but not hard while larger tomatoes should should feel heavy. If in doubt, give it a whiff. If there is no smell, chances are the tomato isn’t ready yet.
Can you make this tomato and onion salad ahead?
Yes, you can make the salad ahead. You can prep your ingredients ahead but don’t add the dressing or the basil to the tomatoes until you’re ready to serve. The salad will lose its texture if dressed too early and the basil will bruise from the acid. Serve tomatoes at room temperature for the best flavour.
