Summer Salad II: Tomatoes and Peppers Plus

This is the other salad we’ve been making repeatedly in these days of high summer.  We got the idea for this from La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio (the book that also transformed our approach to fried zucchini blossoms).   The authors, Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene, acknowledge that this recipe is not a traditional Sicilian one: it is, rather (to translate literally their Italian title) a “salad of Mediterranean vegetables.”   Fortunately for us, all these grow abundantly here in our quasi- mediterranean climate.   Although this recipe as written is a main-course salad, garnished generously with crispy bacon or pancetta and curls of parmesan cheese, it is also good in a vegetarian version.  What makes it distinctive is the dressing, a sort of thin mayonnaise with hints of herb and anchovy (the latter is very subtle in the finished dressing, so don’t be afraid to use it); and the olives that are slivered rather than just being thrown in.  You can vary the amounts and kinds of the vegetables you use depending on what you have on hand, though the tomatoes are indispensible.  Actually, one might almost think of this as a tomato salad with complicated garnishes.  The result is a festival of varied textures and colors.

Dressing

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme or Basil

2 anchovy fillets rinsed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup mayonnaise

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl or blender.  Slowly add the oil, then add the mayonnaise.

Combine in a large bowl:

4 large tomatoes, cut into hefty cubes

1 yellow and 1 red  bell pepper, cored, seeded, and julienned

1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced (we tend not to peel the thin-skinned Persian cucumbers)

2 carrots, grated

20 olives, slivered

1 small bunch arugula or another hearty green

 
Add dressing and toss lightly.  The salad benefits from marinating for a few minutes after you dress it and before you garnish it.  

 Garnish the plated salad(s) with:

¾ cup diced smoked pancetta or slab bacon and

3 ½ ounces shaved Parmesan

Here is the result: summer on a plate.  You can take a moment to appreciate it before digging in. As Milton points out, in Paradise Lost, our surprise guide to salad making, when dinner is a salad, one can pause to chat because there is "No fear lest dinner cool."