Heirloom Tomato Salad with Blue Cheese
With the abundance of fresh tomatoes available now, I have been feasting on this salad for the past couple of weeks. In my opinion it is the Heirloom tomatoes that give this dish a great flavor. I used two kinds of cheese, both Danish - one was softer and I spread a bit of this on the toasted French bread and the other more crumbly I put over the salad. All in all this was a huge success with my family and is now a recipe we will use again and again.
Servings: Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Ingredients
- 8 1/2-inch-thick slices crusty bread
- 4 large garlic cloves, halved
- 3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup currant or grape tomatoes or halved cherry or pear tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 10 medium heirloom tomatoes of assorted colors, cored, thinly sliced
- 1 small red onion, sliced paper-thin
- 3 celery stalks, sliced thin on diagonal
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled blue cheese
Preparation
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Rub bread with cut garlic halves; brush bread with 3 tablespoons oil. Combine remaining 1/3 cup oil, currant tomatoes, and green onions in medium bowl; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Overlap tomato slices in concentric circles on platter, alternating colors. Scatter onion and celery slices over tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon tomato and green onion mixture over. Sprinkle with crumbled cheese.
Grill bread until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Cut each slice diagonally in half; serve with salad.
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetite August 2003
