It’s the end of June, which means that we are nearing the start of peach and tomato seasons. Yes, all sorts of fresh produce are arriving, as is the heat and humidity of summer. At the end of a hot day, there’s not much better than a cool dish as part of your meal.

When you make this salad, you’ll discover that much like the tomatoes in the recipe, the peaches shine as well. Summer is just beginning. Get this salad recipe into a regular rotation on your menu. You will be glad that you did!

The original post from August 2015

This week’s featured ingredient is the tomato. My favorite roadside stand seems to be overflowing with these beautiful gems. As such, summer is my favorite time to work with fresh tomatoes. Once they aren’t local, they lose all of their best attributes: color, smell, taste. So, as I bow down to the greatness of locally grown tomatoes, I find it difficult to transform them from their raw state. They are perfect as they are.

I pondered how to best showcase this ingredient; I knew that I wanted it to be simple. Driving back and forth on my town’s main thoroughfare, I saw a farm advertising local peaches. At that moment I knew, a composed salad of two local ingredients would be how I feature tomatoes.

With both peaches and tomatoes available freshly picked, it simply became a matter of determining what other flavors and ingredients to include. I kept this salad simple, light, and elegant. In fact, it probably is more worthy of a Tapas Monday than my weekday lunch, but that just gives me a reason to make it again. Soon.

For a heartier dish, you could serve this salad on a bed of greens and top it with some toasted pecans or ciliegine (tiny mozzarella balls). Whatever you do, don’t overdress this salad. Let the peaches and tomatoes speak for themselves.

Fresh Peach & Tomato Salad

Michele Pesula Kuegler

A simple salad that highlights local produce

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine vegetarian

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 1 tomato cored
• 1 peach pit removed
• balsamic vinegar*
• salt & pepper
• 6-8 mint leaves minced

Instructions

 

• Cut tomato and peach into similar sized wedges, approximately 8 per piece of produce.
• Lay on plate, alternating peach slice, tomato slice.
• Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Top with minced mint.

Notes

I recommend using an artisanal balsamic vinegar, which is thick in consistency, for best results.

Keyword local produce, salad, summer eating