Tart London: How to make tomato and pickled red onion salad

If there is any time to make a tomato salad it is now.

British tomatoes are in their last wonderful stage of ripening and you can find them in abundance at the greengrocer. Even the supermarkets are full of multi-coloured fruit.

A good tomato should be served very simply. Nothing tastes better than a ripe tomato drizzled with good quality olive oil and a scattering of sea salt. If you want more recipe ideas, then the brilliant Skye Gyngell has a whole chapter on tomatoes in her book My Favourite Ingredients. Our favourite is her tomato and bread soup, in which she uses up even the oldest or most bruised tomato, or her lobster with white beans, tarragon and tomatoes. Yum.

This tomato salad will sit well with most dishes — particularly so with chicken, lamb or beef. We recently served it with a plump roast chicken stuffed with lemon and garlic, alongside roast carrots with a limey yoghurt dressing and a summer leaf salad. Delicious cheese bought by Lucy’s brother Tom followed, as did a good bottle of red. A very happy Sunday lunch indeed. If you are looking for lush tomatoes to replicate this dish later in the year, we suggest heading to fruit and veg specialists, Natoora. Its Sicilian Datterini tomatoes are to die for.

Tomato and pickled red onion salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 800g mixed tomatoes

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

• 100ml olive oil

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 100g feta

• 1 tsp zaatar

• 1 red or green chilli, sliced

• 1 red or green chilli, sliced

• 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses

• Small bunch of fresh oregano

• For the pickled red onion

• 3 tbsp cider vinegar

• 2 tsp honey

• Pinch of salt

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced

Method

First make the pickled onion by whisking together the cider vinegar, honey and salt. Add the red onion and toss. Place to one side.

Slice the tomatoes — baby tomatoes in half, larger tomatoes into chunks — and place on a serving platter. Whisk together the garlic, oil and lemon juice. Season and pour it on the tomatoes. Scatter over the pickled red onions. Crumble the feta on top, then sprinkle over some the zaatar and the sliced chilli. Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses. Finish with another drizzle of olive oil and scattering of fresh oregano.