Tomato and Cucumber Salads

Heirloom tomatoes (2)I am fond of tomatoes, and I am fond of cucumbers; this is a pretty good time of year to get either. I have written about these before, both as a blog and an audio–strangely enough, roughly a year ago–so you might look there, but here is another approach.
I had never really thought of this as a recipe, more like something I just threw together every night, but I guess there is a recipe of sorts–but all measurements are approximate, since tomatoes are of different sizes, sometimes you have a lot, sometimes you don’t, and you may need 8 helping if you are having guests, or just 3 or 4 if you are eating alone.

Ingredients:
Really, this is what it is all about. These are great salads if you have great ingredients, uninspiring if you don’t. Other than the olive oil and salt, they were all things I could find locally. 

For the Tomato Salad:
Tomato Salad (2)Of course, if you arrange this with sliced fresh mozzarella, it becomes a Caprese Salad.

  • tomatoes
    –about a fist sized helping for each one eating (granted–I have big hands, so be generous). They should be and smell fresh, and it is best if they are an interesting heirloom variety; the last time I made this, for a cast party (I really miss you guys from The Dresser), I found some odd medium sized Tennessee Twister and Stripe varieties which were a delight for the senses.
  • fresh basil leaves
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • a generous amount of olive oil

For the Cucumber Salad:
Cucumber Salad (3)Of course, your could add onion to this, too.

  • cucumbers
    —fresh and local are best, but English cucumbers are really good, too, so locally grown English or Persian are the best. Skins are good, and give more flavor, but if the skin is too tough, peel it, or peel it in strips.
  • fresh savory–a generous amount, maybe the leaves from 4 or 5 stalks.
    —for the idea of savory instead of dill, I am indebted to the lovely Mrs. Rosenbaum of Abingdon, Virginia.
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • vinegar (I like rice wine vinegar because it is sweet & gentle, and doesn’t change the color)

Step 1, Prepare Ye the way: gather and wash all the ingredients. Pat them dry a bit as well.

Step 2, cutting the guests of honor: theoretically bite sized, but I have a big mouth. I prefer the cucumbers thin and the tomatoes thick.

Step 3, a salt: sprinkle with salt to taste (I like quite a bit more than none, but not so salty it overwhelms everything)Savory & Basil

Step 4, adding herbs: strip the savory off the stems, rub it between your palms, and sprinkle it over the cucumbers. Cut the basil in a chiffonade, and sprinkle it over the tomatoes.

WHAT IS A CHIFFONADE, YOU ASK?
Basil Chiffonade (6)chiffonade is leaves cut across into long strips. The best way to do this is to stack a number of the basil leafs together, then roll them sideways into a bundle–like fine cigars rolled on the thighs of beautiful women, and then cut them across the roll with a sharp knife (OK, maybe clean scissors).

Step 4, dressing for dinner: pour the vinegar over the cucumbers and the olive oil over the tomatoes.

Final Step, share and enjoy: serve them to friends on the back porch with a good cheese, freshly baked French bread, some cold water, and a good wine–maybe a nice Côtes du Rhone.