Hey, guys. Do you see these tomatoes? I grew them! I'm pretty impressed that I've been able to keep the plants alive and get some gorgeous little tomatoes. I planted all plum tomatoes, but they've been coming out different shapes and sizes. My initial plan was to grate them and turn them into sauce, but I really didn't have enough of them to make very much sauce, so I used them in a salad instead.
And not just any salad... a quinoa and grilled sourdough salad from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I've made a number of recipes from Plenty and some from Jerusalem too, and I am a big fan of Ottolenghi's recipes. This salad lived up to my expectations.
It starts with some diced cucumbers and tomatoes.
Then it gets a little thinly sliced red onion.
Some cooked quinoa and fresh herbs (cilantro, parlsey, and mint) bolster it and perk up its flavor, respectively.
And some olive-oil-brushed, salted, crisped sourdough bread adds crunch, as well as soaks up some of the dressing and the juices from the tomatoes and cucumber.
Everything gets mixed together with a little lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and minced garlic.
And then it gets put in a serving bowl and served. It's a great summer salad -- the perfect way to use up garden cucumbers and tomatoes as well as lots of herbs.
As much as I loved the salad -- it has various textures and nice, bright flavors going on -- I'd probably cut back the bread to one slice (the recipe calls for four) and up the quinoa from 1/4 cup to 1 whole cup.
You can find a version of the recipe (it's not exactly the same as what's in the book) on The Guardian's website.
Do you enjoy bread salads, like panzanella?
This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which I receive a few cents if you make purchases.