Tomato Salad

There’s a Whole Foods a few blocks from my apartment. I don’t do my main shopping there, but when I’m downtown I like to stop in and browse the aisles. I always leave with something wonderful. The produce department is the first thing I see when I walk through the door, and they always get me there. On Tuesday night they had some gorgeous mini tomatoes positioned strategically next to mounds of basil that were clustered around a sign that said “just picked.” Just picked basil? Tiny cute tomatoes? Well, I’m only human, after all. I got some.

The container I picked up was actually a gourmet tomato medley, and I know that because the package said so. According to the package, these gorgeous green-striped ones are exotic tomatoes, the orange and yellow ones are cocktail and cherry tomatoes, respectively, and the red ones are of two varieties: grape and mini plum.

I knew right away what I wanted to do with these. I’d make a simple tomato and basil salad for myself for lunch the next day, simply dressed with nothing but a bit of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and some salt and pepper. Nothing else. I didn’t want any extraneous ingredients to interfere with the natural beauty of these little guys. And they were so sweet, so delectably juicy, that really nothing else was needed.

Okay, I’m lying. Could you tell? Not about there being nothing more needed to enhance the flavor of the tomatoes—that part was true. But, even so, I couldn’t stop myself from adding a little something extra. After I took the pictures, I added a dollop of mayo to the tomatoes and stirred it in. I couldn’t help myself! And it was so good. The natural juice from the tomatoes thinned out the mayo and the two, together, formed a delicious dressing that was simultaneously fresh and creamy and, oh, so good. But if that’s not what floats your boat, I still recommend picking up some of these tomatoes if you see them, because there are tons of ways to use them. A nice panzanella comes to mind, or some tomato-topped bruschetta. And, really, they’re just so colorful and pretty—what more reason do you need?