A wonderfully refreshing and light salad with a zesty dressing. It goes perfectly with fresh seafood. Substitute Greek kalamata olives for black olives if desired.
I'm happy to be the first reviewer of this seriously good salad and hopefully get the recipe off to a flying start! I found as I was going to describe this, as "light and fresh," that the submitter had already described it perfectly himself. This was exactly what I had in mind when I was searching for a tomato-cucumber salad this morning and I found this one particularly appealing in that it called for three different acids - the balsamic vinegar, the lighter red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Loved it, especially with the lemon juice and zest, as I don't generally like the heavy, sweet taste of balsamic vinegar. Classic, Mediterranean ingredients and flavors, easily mixed in proportions to suit your own tastes - in my case that would mean a little more olive oil and no sugar. I seeded the tomatoes before chopping so as not to have their excess liquid in the salad. The salad, now hours after I put it together, is already even better since the flavors have had a chance to marry. Since fresh basil has a tendency to turn black, I will add that just before serving. Any leftovers (if there are any!) I plan to mix with some ceci beans (garbanzo beans) for a healthy, light lunch. Beautiful salad, full of flavor and pleasantly so! - 27 Aug 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
Hi Folks, This is my recipe and i should have mentioned it was not my intention to pour all the dressing on the salad. Only what YOU like. Start lite and add it's the #1 rule of cooking. You can add but you can't take it out. Sorry for the confusion. I could not figure out how to edit my recipe once it was posted. Thank you all for the great reviews I'm thrilled you like it! - 18 Nov 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I really enjoyed this salad as a use for garden veggies! The dressing was nice and flavorful but not too radical - I did think it was a bit much, so i cut it in half. The second day I added tortellini to the leftovers - they were gone before I got any. I will definitely make this one again. - 07 Sep 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)