You will love the flavor
in this Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette!
The weather has just been SO odd this year. After a horrible summer growing season, the fall has been totally summer-like. Warm temperatures, warm nights, dry and just beautiful.
This makes the leaves really spectacular, but it also means the garden is still churning out goodies – including some gorgeous tomatoes.
Between shoving as many as I can into the freezer and canning jars, I come up with a few new ways for us to enjoy them. Like this Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette. It just makes sense – a vinaigrette is mainly an acid, some seasonings and oil, so the tomatoes do a fine job of filling most of the role of the acid. I did add a couple tablespoons of cider vinegar to round things out, but the tomatoes do most of the work.
This stuff is amazing on something like a steak salad, or a submarine sandwich. Not surprisingly, it is pretty darned good on a tomato salad too. It livens up roasted veggies and it’s heaven splashed lightly over scrambled eggs. I love it for a dipping sauce with a toasted cheese sandwich.
I used a perfectly ripe slicing tomato, but in the past, I have use tomatoes that a little past their prime. In that case, you might want to taste the vinaigrette and add a little extra vinegar, because the riper the tomatoes, the less acidic, and you want the balance of acid – sweet – oil. Just a little taste will tell you if you need to adjust anything. You do need a box grater for this and this is the one I am currently using – Cuisinart Box Grater. I like it better than my old one, and every kitchen needs a box grater, right?
- 1 large, ripe tomato, washed
- 1 large garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 7 or 8 grinds fresh black pepper
- pinch of granulated sugar
- ¾ cup good olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced basil leaves
- Cut the tomato in half, top to bottom, and remove core.
- Using a box grater set over a shallow container, like a pie plate, remove pulp by holding one half of the tomato against the grater with the palm of your hand. Use firm pressure to hold the tomato in place and grate up and down, until you get to the skin. Go fairly slowly, and take care not to press too firmly as you get to the skin, so that you don't cut yourself. Discard the skin. Repeat with the other half of the tomato. You will have around a half cup of pulp.
- Empty the tomato pulp into a small mixing bowl [one with high sides makes whisking a little more efficient, but any bowl will work.
- Use a micro plane to grate the garlic clove right into the bowl, or mash the garlic to a paste using the tines of a fork.
- Add the vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar, and whisk until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Keep whisking and slowly stream in the oil, until everything is combined and emulsified. You can just put everything in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake it vigorously, but I think whisking works better.
- Stir in the minced basil.
- This is best if it has 30 minutes or so to meld the flavors before using. Store leftovers in the fridge for up a to week.
I love the beautiful color of this vinaigrette – just seeing the bottle on the table makes me happy!
Enjoying the bright fresh flavor makes me even happier!
note: this post contains one or more Amazon affiliate links
and I make a small commission on your purchase.
23 thoughts on “Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette”