Cherry tomatoes are colorful, vibrant, and zesty. So, when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for a cherry tomato salad, I decided to give it a try.
Novel Tomato Salad (Cherry Tomato Salad) made an attractive presentation, and was tasty. Yellow and red cherry tomatoes are arranged on a bed of lettuce and then topped with a vinaigrette-style dressing.
The recipe called for peeling the cherry tomatoes. A hundred-years-ago tomatoes were often peeled, but, since they are almost never peeled today, I considered skipping that step. However, in the end, I decided to follow the old recipe’s instructions, and peeled the tomatoes. The peeling was a little tedious– but after peeling the first 2 or 3 tomatoes, I got the hang of it, and the rest went quickly.
The salad made a nice presentation and was tasty. The peeling of the tomatoes affected both the look of the salad and the texture. The peeled cherry tomatoes were soft and juicy without the usual firmness of the skins. The tomatoes looked lovely arranged in the bowl, but had a soft, textured look rather then their usual shiny waxy skin. Also, the peeled cherry tomatoes soaked up more of the dressing which added additional flavor.
Here’s the original recipe:
When I arranged the cherry tomatoes, in order to make a circle of red cherry tomatoes around the yellow ones, I needed more red tomatoes than yellow ones. When I updated the recipe, I increased the amount of red tomatoes to 1 1/2 cups, but this is a very flexible recipe, and the the number of cherry tomatoes needed of each color will vary greatly based on the size of the bowl and size of the tomatoes.
I’ve made several recipes this year which called for French Dressing. As I’ve previously indicated, a hundred years ago, French Dressing was a vinaigrette dressing, and quite different from the commercial, orange-colored French dressing that is common today. Here is the French Dressing recipe in the cookbook which contained the Novel Tomato Salad (Cherry Tomato Salad) recipe:
I halved the recipe when I made it. I’ve previously posted this same French Dressing recipe as part of the recipes for Green Bean Salad (with Nasturtiums) and Cottage Cheese and Tomato Salad.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Novel Tomato Salad (Cherry Tomato Salad)
water
1 1/2 cups red cherry tomatoes
1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes
French Dressing
heart leaves of iceberg lettuce (or use the leaves of another type of lettuce)
1 clove garlic
parsley, for garnish
Step 1. Put water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Put a few tomatoes at a time into the boiling water, scald for 15-30 seconds. Remove from water and peel the loosened skins from the tomatoes.
Step 2. Put the peeled tomatoes in the French dressing (see recipe below). Put tomatoes in refrigerator to chill and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Step 3. Peel garlic and cut in half, then rub serving bowl with the garlic.
Step 4. Line bowl with lettuce, then put the peeled yellow tomatoes in the center and the red tomatoes around the yellow ones. If desired, sprinkle with additional French dressing.
Step 5. Garnish with springs of parsley.
French Dressing (Vinaigrette Dressing)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
Step 1. Put the salt and paprika in a small bowl.
Step 2. Gradually add the olive oil while stirring constantly.
Step 3. Then slowly add the vinegar, a small amount at a time, while continuing to stir.
It sounds pretty. The peeled tomatoes would prevent the problem I have with whole unpeeled tomatoes. The unpeeled ones scoot around when you try to spear them with a fork, sometimes to other sides of the table. 😆
You’ve convinced me it might be worthwhile to peel the tomatoes for this. My first thought was ‘Wha-a-a-aT???@