Marinated tomato and feta salad is the easiest summer side dish. It lets the heirloom tomatoes and pickled red onions do all the work. Marinated tomato and feta salad is even better the next day too!
Is there anything more summery than a good heirloom tomato? I wish I would have had my life together more this summer so I could have planted some tomatoes. Maybe next year?
Did you plant a garden this year? Can I snag some tomatoes from you? I could trade you some fresh basil. We could make this dish together. Sigh, if only we lived closer.
The truth is, I know not the first thing about keeping plants alive and gardening. I couldn’t even tell you the names of the plants and trees we have on our property and we have lived here for over 2 years.
Remember when I went to that Flower and Garden Show a while back? Well, I bought these peony roots while I was at the show. My grandfather had the biggest, prettiest peony plants. I had hopes to have something similar at my house.
The first year, I kept them alive and they totally flourished and bloomed. I was a psycho though and took them inside during any sign of inclement weather. I also managed to keep the cutest baby succulent alive for over two years too! At one point, I even thought that my thumb might finally be turning green.
Nope!
I left the succulent outdoors overnight to transplant the next morning and it was a little too cold, I guess, and it wilted and died! And then some sort of moss and drainage turned my roots into mush. So sad!
Keeping my fingers crossed that my basil and parsley can at least make it through the summer.
What’s a summer salad without fresh herbs? And, an even better question, what’s summer without the appearance of a caprese-like salad?
My version this summer has feta and pickled red onions because they hold up really well to the basil-parsley vinaigrette. Plus, sometimes I just need a little break from fresh mozzarella. I have big plans for eating marinated tomato and feta salad during my 4th of July festivities. I hope, even though we don’t live nearby, you will at least be joining me in devouring this whole salad!
Marinated Tomato and Feta Salad
Heirloom tomatoes and feta crumbles marinated in a parsley-basil vinaigrette topped with pickled red onions, salt and pepper.
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- 9 oz fresh basil leaves
- 4 oz fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
For the Salad
- 4 heirloom tomatoes sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced in 1/2
- 1/2 cup pickled red onion slices
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
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Combine the basil, parsley, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add lemon juice and 1/2 the olive oil. Puree, scraping down sides as needed. Add the remaining olive oil and puree until smooth.
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Arrange cut tomatoes on a plate. Toss with 1/2 the vinaigrette. Arrange feta and onions on top of tomatoes. Finish off with some salt and pepper.
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Salad can sit at room temperature for an hour to marinate or in the fridge until the next day. I preferred this salad the next day.
