Tuscan Tomato Salad

If you have been following this blog you will know that we eat salad almost daily and sometimes more often.  Salads do not have to be lettuce based although that is the image that comes to mind when talking of salads.  A wide range of vegetables can form the basis for a delectable salad perfect for any occasion.

My husband's ultimate favourite meal is grilled steak and potatoes.  That's it!  He would gladly eat this meal 7 days a week without complaining.  I make sure to add in vegetables and some type of side salad to balance out the meal.   I made a Tuscan Tomato Salad as a the side salad to compliment our Father's Day dinner.   The meal consisted of grilled sirloin steak, foil wrapped grilled seasoned potatoes, steamed asparagus and the Tuscan Tomato Salad.

When I think Tuscan I think of Tuscany and the rich Italian flavours.  I used a basic vinaigrette consisting of 1 part vinegar, 3 parts oil and binder then built from there using flavours from Italy.  Those flavours include olives, tomatoes, onions, basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, and sage as well as extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.  The resulting salad was as tasty as it was colourful!  It will be ever so much better tasting with home grown tomatoes as soon as the garden starts producing.

Tuscan Tomato Salad

1 large tomato, diced
½ small onion, chopped
3 tbsp, diced green onion
8  pitted black olives, sliced
Tuscan vinaigrette (recipe follows)
2 sprigs boxwood basil**

Prepare the vegetables.  Stir tomatoes, onion, green pepper and olives together.  Divide into 2 - 4oz bowls.    Drizzle the prepared Tuscan Vinaigrette over the vegetables.  Place a sprig of boxwood basil into the centre of each bowl.

Tuscan Vinaigrette

1 tbsp Italian Red Wine Vinegar*
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp honey
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp chopped chives

Whisk the ingredients together.  Pour over salad as desired.

* I used Alessi Italian red wine vinegar from Tuscany.
** Boxwood basil is a strongly flavoured basil with tiny leaves.