Which salad reminds you the most of warm summer days and family get togethers and gathering around a table to load your plate? Potato Salad? Macaroni? Chicken? Can you taste summer and picture a lazy Sunday afternoon in front of you just thinking about it? I can.
I love to use a mix of tomatoes – different colors, different sizes
If ever there were one salad that I could point to and definitively say it represented all my family gatherings I would gesture freely at a classic tomato, onion and cucumber salad. Simple. Almost too simple and yet something really special happens when these guys get together in a hook-up of colors and flavors.
I peel my cucumbers in stripes. Why? Because my mom did it that way…
Was I ever surprised to encounter my family favorite in Italy mixed with fresh basil and in Istanbul with small, creamy white beans. It showed up on the table in Peru in the Sacred Valley and in Spain cleverly disguised as gazpacho. I hear that some iteration appears in Greece, Israel and the surrounds. It turns out that my family recipe shows up on many family tables and is known universally as a Shepherd’s Salad.
Cucumber seeds can be bitter, so I usually just get rid of them.
The tomatoes should be ripe and bright, the cucumbers partially peeled to revel both the dark green of the skin and the icy green of the flesh, and the onion should always be a purple one in my book – if for nothing else but a splash of purple.
Did I mention that purple is my favorite color?
My family version was always dressed with red wine vinegar, olive oil and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Since I can’t follow a recipe worth anything, I alternate between using lemon juice and white wine vinegar – or sometimes a little of both along with sea salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper. A rough chop of parsley will also get tossed in if I have some on hand.
Purple onions again add a spot of color and visual appeal. I don’t think I even use them for anything besides this salad
You could add a heaping spoon of grainy mustard or some tart capers or olives. A little feta cheese or buffalo mozzarella would not be misplaced. Any fresh herb can and should join the party and tarragon, thyme and mint have all joined mine at some point. But to my mind, simple is always better.
I prefer Italian Flat Leaf Parsley – something about its flavor and texture ring more true.
Ingredients
- 2-3 Ripe Tomatoes
- 1 English Cucumber, peeled in strips
- 1 Small Red Onion
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- Juice from 1/2 Lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon White Vinegar
- Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley
- Optional: a sprinkle of sugar if the tomatoes are a little too tart
Method
- Quarter and slice the tomatoes.
- Peel the cucumber in strips - leaving stripes of the dark green skin. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and with a teaspoon, scrape out the seeds. Cut the cucumber into thin slices.
- Halve and slice the red onion into very thin strips.
- In a bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk together. Add the onions and toss with the dressing. Let the onions marinade for 10 minutes allowing them to slightly pickle in the acid and salt.
- Add the tomatoes and cucumbers and toss. Taste for salt and pepper and acid - add more if needed until the flavor is where you want it. The salad can be served immediately or refrigerated for up to 8 hours before serving. Right before serving, add the parsley and toss again.
- If the tomatoes are on the tart side, the salad can be a little too acidic for some. If that is the case, sprinkle a little sugar into the salad before serving and toss in with the parsley.
-Lydia, seller of purple
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Ingredients & Supplies in this Post:
- Sel Gris
- Turkish Spice Mill – I got this in the Spice Market in Istanbul and use it every day
- Glass Salad Bowl
- Citrus Reamer – the better to get all the juice out of that lemon
I’m a big fan of purple sweet potatoes sprinkled with Italian parsley. Add a touch of cardamom and coriander. Drop in some lemon juice and zest. Finish with Sicilian truffle salt. Yummmmmm.
That sounds AMAZING Joe. I love purple foods in general and just recently discovered purple sweet potatoes! I will have to try this out.
*I should add the caveat that I love NATURALLY purple foods….
Purple!!! I am looking forward to foraging for elderberries. I see an elderberry mango chutney on the horizon.
Again, I like the way you think. Elderberry Jam is one of my all time faves.
Also purple artichokes….
I love the freshness and simpleness of this.
Thanks Ellen! I feel like it is so simple and fresh and cooling since it comes from those hot Mediterranean countries… You need something light and refreshing on a sweltering and humid day. Thanks for reading and commenting – I always love hearing from you.
Purple Food Update: Pulled some of last fall’s Elderberry Lemon Basil Delight out of the deep chill. Brightened it with juice and zest of some amazing minneola tangelos.Added soft flesh of some champagne mangos and bit of sel gris. Not as purple as before. More like a rainbow in your mouth.
You should probably check out our Kalettes post…. #purplefood