I recently found some irresistible gooseberry-like green tomatoes at the farmers market. They had almost translucent, iridescent skin that glistened as the sun shone on them. They had a firm texture and nice acidity, which oddly made me think of crunchy green apples. Once back in my kitchen, I made a small salad trying the two together and was delighted that the two fruits worked so well together. Paired with the freshness of mint leaves and perfume from lemon basil, the salad was bright and light.
Green Apple, Herb and Green Tomato Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 4 green crunchy apples, very thinly sliced, on a mandoline if possible
- ½ pound green (or yellow) variety of cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 30 small mint leaves
- 30 small lemon basil leaves, if you cannot find lemon basil, use regular Italian basil
- ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
For the Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Coarse sea salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Completely cover a large platter with the apple slices, overlapping them slightly. Scatter the tomato pieces, mint and basil leaves and toasted pine nuts over the apples.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice and lime juice to form an emulsion. Immediately pour the vinaigrette over the apples to prevent them from discoloring. Sprinkle the salad with a generous pinch of salt and 5–6 grinds black pepper.
