Tomato Salad (Salade de Tomates)

This summery fresh tomato salad is France-inspired and includes just 5 ingredients. Simple to put together but makes a colorful and delicious side dish!

When we lived in France, I would come home from the market every August Sunday with a pile of gorgeous tomatoes. My favorites were the “coeur de boeuf,” which translates roughly as “oxheart”.

They are more oval shaped than round, and have a pointy end. It’s a meaty and flavorful tomato, similar to a U.S. beefsteak tomato. When you have a perfectly ripe one, take a cue from the French and try this salade de tomates, or Tomato Salad. 

Jump to:

• Why Make This Recipe
• 🥗 Ingredients
• 🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🧐 Recipe FAQs for French Tomato Salad
• 👩‍🍳 Expert Tips
• How to Store Tomatoes
• Other Delicious Tomato Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• More About Molly

Why Make This Recipe

• Simple but delicious: let peak tomatoes star in this simple tomato onion salad
• Perfect for small plates dinner: make this French tomato salad, add a baguette, a couple of cheeses, and maybe some prosciutto or sausage, and you have the perfect meal!
• So easy: only 5 ingredients, and comes together in minutes

🥗 Ingredients

• Tomatoes: Of course, ripe tomatoes are the star of Salade de Tomates. Try heirloom tomatoes, and feel free to mix and match colors. Cherry tomatoes are also delicious in this dish.
• Red Onion: I love the combination of onion next to the tomatoes and basil in this salad, but you can leave it out if you aren't an onion fan. White onion or a sweet onion like Vidalia could be substituted for the red onion.
• Olive Oil: This is a great opportunity to use that fancy bottle of extra virgin olive oil you have in the pantry for special occasions. Of course you don't need a fancy bottle, but this is a salad where you will taste the quality of each of the ingredients.
• Red Wine Vinegar: Red wine vinegar is classic in this tomato and onion salad, but you could substitute balsamic vinegar or even white wine vinegar.

🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions

First, slice half of a red onion into very thin slices. Fill a medium bowl with ice water, and add the onion slices. Let them sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice 4 large tomatoes into thin wedges and put them into a bowl. Stack basil leaves together and roll into a cylinder, then slice thinly until you have about 2 tablespoons.

Now drain the onion slices and add to the bowl with the tomatoes.

Whisk together 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar in a small bowl, and pour into the bowl with the tomatoes and onions.

Toss together gently, then pour out carefully onto a serving plate.

Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fleur de sel is perfect for this, but kosher salt or sea salt would also be fine.

Garnish with basil. Let sit at room temperature for 30 min before serving. 

🧐 Recipe FAQs for French Tomato Salad

👩‍🍳 Expert Tips

Wondering what to serve with this tomato salad? It's a fantastic side dish for anything you might throw on the grill, from fish to burgers. You could also make this salad into a full meal by adding some baguette toasts topped with Roasted Garlic Aioli.

Or, make this into a summer feast by pairing with Old Bay Shrimp with Dipping Sauce and this Easy Zucchini Gratin. Tomato onion salad is also fantastic on the side of Quiche Florentine, Shrimp Scampi without Wine, or a Ham and Cheese Frittata.

You may be curious about the technique of soaking the red onion before adding to the salad. Soaking raw onions (sliced or chopped) in very cold or iced water for about 10 minutes will help soften their sharp flavor.

You can also sprinkle them with lemon or lime juice, or any kind of vinegar—this will add flavor to them as well, though it will soften them slightly. An ice water bath will mellow their flavor but keep them crunchy, so that’s the technique I prefer for this recipe.

How to Store Tomatoes

For many years, I have sworn that uncut tomatoes should never ever be kept in the refrigerator. And I stand by that guideline, though with one caveat learned from a Serious Eats article: if your tomatoes are at their peak of ripeness, refrigeration is the way to go.

The reason is that the optimal temperature to store tomatoes is 55 degrees Fahrenheit—which is a tough temperature to maintain in a house: colder than room temperature but not as cold as the refrigerator. 

So if you purchase or pull from from your garden a tomato that is not quite ripe, then by all means, leave it out at room temperature where it will continue to ripen. However, if you have perfectly ripe tomatoes, the fridge might be the best place for them as they will also continue to ripen on the counter (and eventually, rot).

If you’re not going to eat them in 1-2 days, you can keep them at their perfect stage of ripeness by putting them in the refrigerator. That said, always take them out about a half hour before you want to eat them so that they can come back to room temperature.

Other Delicious Tomato Recipes

For more great recipes for perfectly ripe tomatoes, you must try this Puff Pastry Tomato Tart. Then check out these favorites:

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