Sides & Salads
The Barely a Recipe Tomato Salad
Summer's last, best salad. Simple enough to throw together, pretty enough to bring to someone else's table.
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Serves
- 6 as a side
- Published
- September 4, 2026
- Filed under
- Sides & Salads
It's tomato season, at least through September. That means this is the salad you bring to every barbecue, every cookout, every last minute Labor Day invite you said yes to before remembering you were asked to bring something.
There isn't really a recipe here, and that's the point. The photos speak for themselves. Find the fun dish you've been waiting for the right occasion to use, keep everything separate until the last minute, and carry the dressing in a mason or Weck jar. Pour it over right before it hits the table and toss.
Simple, but it looks luxurious and elegant. When my food looks pretty, it tastes better. That's a big part of the 80 percent for me.
Method
Gather good tomatoes
Different types, on and off the vine, sliced and wedged however you like. This salad lives and dies by the tomatoes, so let them be the whole point. Fresh basil and the red onion join them.
Tame the onion
Slice the red onion paper thin and soak it in water for a few minutes while you prepare everything else. It mellows the bite without losing the personality.
Arrange, don't assemble
Have fun with placement. There is no wrong way to do this. Cucumber rosettes tucked between tomato wedges, ribbons of onion scattered over the top, basil last. Make it beautiful. It will be eaten, not judged.
Shake the dressing
I have not bought a dressing in decades. Olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, honey, salt, and freshly cracked pepper in a jar. Shake it. Taste and adjust. I cannot give you measurements and I promise you will be fine without them.
Dress it at the table
Everything travels separately. Right before it goes out, pour the dressing over the whole thing and toss. That's the move.
Notes from Nikki
- Prioritize local farmers market tomatoes over store bought through the first week of October. Tis the tomato season, so take advantage. You will taste the difference.
- The cucumber rosettes are doing the heavy lifting visually, and they're easier than they look.
How I make those cucumber rosettes is Sunday Edit only.
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