This Heritage Tomato Salad with Salsa Verde and Balsamic Pearls is a delicious dish that's perfect for the summer months. Get the recipe below.
Tomatoes, herbs, olive oil and balsamic vinegar are a match made in heaven. In this recipe they are brought together to make a delicious side dish or light meal.
This recipe is best made when tomatoes are in season. The fresh herbs bring the sunny flavour of the tomatoes to life and the balsamic pearls add a pop of acidic flavour.
Balsamic pearls may seem like a rather decadent ingredient and they can be a little hard to source. That's why I have a recipe showing you how to make them at home. Trust me, it's easier than you think and well worth the effort.
Jump to:
Ingredients
This salad requires the simplest ingredients that are in season. For the full quantities check out the recipe card below:
- Tomatoes, I like to use heritage varieties
- Garlic
- Shallots
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Capers
- Flat leaf parsley
- Basil
- Coriander
- Sea salt
- Balsamic vinegar
- Agar powder
Step-by-step Instructions
In just 8 simple steps you'll have the most delicious heritage tomato salad drizzled with salsa verde and topped with balsamic pearls.
- Step 1: Begin by chilling oil in the freezer to make the balsamic pearls.
- Step 2: Heat the balsamic vinegar and agar powder over a medium-high heat until it comes to the boil.
- Step 3: Transfer the balsamic vinegar to a bottle fitted with a small nozzle and drip the balsamic into the chilled oil so that it forms pearls.
- Step 4: Drain the oil from the pearls and rinse carefully then place to one side while you assemble the salad.
- Step 5: Blitz the herbs, capers, garlic, apple cider vinegar and oil in a blender to form the salsa verde.
- Step 6: Arrange the tomatoes on a large plate along with the shallot and garlic.
- Step 7: Drizzle over the salsa verde.
- Step 8: Finish the dish by topping with the balsamic pearls.
Hint: pulse the herbs in the blender rather than running it on high as this will give you more control to get your desired consistency.
Substitutions
The ingredients in this recipe are very simple. There are very few substitutions I would recommend.
- Acid - instead of using the apple cider vinegar in the salsa verde, consider using lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- Herbs - experiment with other fresh herbs you have to hand. Mint would also work well.
- Oil - olive oil it best but you could use another neutral flavoured oil in a pinch.
Variations
Transform this simple salad with these variations.
- Spicy - add chilli flakes or finely diced red chilli for some extra heat
- Leafy - make the dish go further by adding baby leaves
- Protein rich - to bulk the dish out and make you fuller for longer add crispy fried tofu
- Added carbohydrates - adding pasta to the salad will add carbohydrates to the dish
- Cheesy - sprinkle over vegan parmesan, vegan mozzarella, vegan halloumi or nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour.
Equipment
You will need a sharp knife and chopping board to prepare the tomatoes, shallot and garlic.
To make the salsa verde you will need a high speed blender.
For the balsamic pearls you will need a freezer-proof dish, a squeezy bottle with a nozzle and a sieve.
Storage
The balsamic pearls can be made up to 1 week in advance and the salsa verde can be made a few hours in advance. But, this is a dish best assembled right before serving.
Top Tip
Let your tomatoes come to room temperature before serving the dish - warm tomatoes have more flavour than those straight from the fridge.
FAQ
If you can't grow your own then I recommend visiting farmer's markets to find heritage tomato varieties. Otherwise you can buy them online from suppliers like Isle of Wight Tomatoes.
Yes, just dice the herbs, capers and garlic as finely as you can and mix with the rest of the salsa verde ingredients.
Either you didn't bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil or the oil wasn't cold enough.
The recipe
Heritage Tomato Salad with Salsa Verde and Balsamic Pearls
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 high speed blender
- 1 saucepan
- 1 squeezy bottle with small nozzle
- 1 freezer-proof bowl or dish
Ingredients
For the salad
- 175 g tomatoes various shapes and sizes, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
For the salsa verde
- 5 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon capers
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoon flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon basil roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon coriander roughly chopped
- 1 pinch salt
For the balsamic pearls
- 150 ml balsamic vinegar
- 2 g agar powder
- 200 ml olive oil
Instructions
- Place the oil into a freezer for up to 30 minutes in a freezer-proof bowl or dish.
- Heat the balsamic vinegar and agar powder in a saucepan until it comes to a boil then leave to cool before transferring to a squeezy bottle with a small nozzle.
- Remove the oil from the freezer and slowly drop the balsamic vinegar into the oil so that they form pearls.
- Drain the oil from the balsamic pearls and rinse. Place them to one side while you make the salad.
- To make the salsa verde, add all of the salsa verde ingredients to a blender and pulse until you have a dressing.
- Layer the tomatoes, shallots and garlic over a serving plate.
- Drizzle over the salsa verde.
- Finally top the dish with the balsamic pearls and serve immediately.
Nutrition
More tomato recipes
If you have a glut of tomatoes, why not try one of these other tomato recipes:
Choclette says
The salad looks beautiful. I'm so intrigud by your balsamic pears, I'm going to have to give them a go. How very clever.
Emma says
They're so much fun to make and so easy too! I look forward to seeing how you use them!