David Atherton's recipe for tomato salad
Summer means it’s tomato time. If you’re not growing your own, try to buy tomatoes that haven’t been chilled as this affects the flavour. When making a tomato salad, I usually add the dressing at the last minute so the salt in it doesn’t leach all the water from the tomatoes and leave them swimming in juice. This salad, however, thrives on it.
I’m always looking for good ways to use up stale bread and the toasted sourdough in this recipe soaks everything up. Pineapple is great for dressings as it has natural sugars and acids. Once whizzed up with miso, you won’t need to add any oil.
If you’re having a barbecue, this salad is a great accompaniment.
For the salad:
200g stale sourdough bread
500g really good tomatoes
1 papaya
Flaky sea salt (for sprinkling)
For the dressing:
80g pineapple
8g white miso paste
½ tsp salt
20ml white wine vinegar
Cut the sourdough into 1cm pieces, lay on a baking tray and bake at 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas mark 7 for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Quarter the tomatoes and add to a mixing bowl. Peel and deseed the papaya, then chop into ½-cm cubes before adding to the tomato.
Put the pineapple, miso, salt and vinegar into a blender and blitz until really smooth.
Add the bread to the tomato mix, then pour in the dressing and stir through. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes, taste to see if you want extra salt sprinkled on top, and enjoy.
