Tomato Salad - Easy

My neighbor the other day kindly dropped off a few  tomatoes of varying sizes and colors.  Now when you have an assortment of lovingly grown tomatoes that somehow managed to avoid the herds (and by herds I mean hordes) of deer we have around here, you do not want to just slice and slap them on a tuna sandwich.  Well, of course you can, and it would taste delicious.  What I mean is that they need to be the stars of a recipe.

By coincidence, I was perusing a rival's another food blog, and a recent post just happened to mention in passing the "traditional Italian tomato salad."

Perfect! Except that I am neither Italian nor traditional. So I fired up the laptop and surfed through a bunch of intertube recipes, taking a little from this recipe and a little from that, to (hopefully) create my very own. Note to my Italian readers -- hope this recipe meets with your approval.

Because all the kids were out of the house tonight, I only made a half-batch. As a result, the photos don't reflect the quantity you would use if you follow the recipe. Also, I forgot to add the mozzarella until almost the end. Your presentation will look MUCH better if you add the cheese where it states in the recipe.


Semi-Traditional Tomato Salad
serves 4 as an appetizer

3-4 fresh tomatoes (red, yellow or a combination), thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced  red onion (large rings halved)
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into thin slices
1/2 tsp. oil from bottled chopped garlic
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 Tbl. Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano (or 1 Tbl. loosely packed finely chopped fresh)

2 large basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

Place a layer of sliced tomatoes on a serving platter. Top with mozzarella slices. 

Arrange the red onions over the mozzarella.

 In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic oil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, and basil.  Drizzle over the cheese and vegetables.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Trust me ... it tastes better than it looks, especially if you follow the directions above.  Serve immediately.