This is a simple salad inspired by a few olive oils and vinegars I had on hand.

During the Christmas holiday season, I visited OliveIt  in Whitby and purchased a sample kit of beautiful oils and vinegars.   I’ve enjoyed this handy mix of oils and vinegars for dipping with fresh breads, but today I decided to try a tomato salad with two of the products which include Black Mission Fig Balsamic and Herb de Provence Infused Olive Oil.

I’m so pleased to have found this lovely little shop. This balsamic isn’t your basic grocery store vinegar.  Right away when you drizzle a drop, you can see the nice thicker texture which gives way to awesome intense flavour.

Try this yummy but simple  tomato salad.  It is a great appetizer or can be enjoyed with various hors d’oeuvres such as prosciutto, genoa salamai, olives and hummus dip.

I enjoyed my salad as a main for my dinner.  Yes I finished all the tomatoes before they started getting too mushy.  As with my pasta, I can’t stand mushy tomatoes.  On many occasions I’ve had to throw them away, just one of these idiosyncrasies I have and I can’t seem to break it. 🙂  Also note, Campari tomatoes are most amazing for salads even in winter.  They cost about 4.99 but are so worth it.  For years I stopped eating tomatoes in the Winter, since they were not very good, but now I can enjoy these red jewels of yumminess in all my salads.  There are some good small cherry or grape tomatoes, however, for this recipe, the Campari works best.

INGREDIENTS:

• Campari tomatoes
• Feta Cheese (thinly sliced)
• Herb de Provence Olive Oil from OliveIt
• Mission Fig Balsamic Vinegar from OliveIt
• Sel Fume
• Iceberg lettuce (shredded)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice your tomatoes.
2. Pour your vinegar in a small (very small) container.  Place a drop of this vinegar on the tomato with a small spoon.  The vinegar is intense and you don’t need a lot and I don’t drizzle from the bottle because I don’t want to bosh it.
3. Pour some olive oil in a small container (separate from vinegar).  Again, place a drop of this oil on each tomato slice.
4. Gently sprinkle salt (fume or your choice of salt) on each slice
5. Top each slice with a very thin piece of feta cheese.
6. Top with thin slices of iceberg lettuce.  (this adds a nice crunchiness to the tomato and feta bites)  You won’t need a lot.  Your shreds should be very thin and light on top of the tomato and cheese.

C’est bon n’est ce pas?