Peak Tomatoes with Torn Basil and Fleur de Sel

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp serrated knife
• •Wide serving platter or shallow bowl
• •Cutting board

Instructions

1. 1

   Select and temper tomatoes

   If your tomatoes have been refrigerated, set them on the counter an hour before serving. Cold mutes flavor. You want them at room temperature, or better, still holding the warmth of the afternoon sun. Rinse gently and dry with a clean towel.

   Never refrigerate tomatoes if you can help it. Cold destroys the enzymes that create their aroma. Keep them stem-side down on the counter, out of direct sun.
2. 2

   Slice with intention

   Use a sharp serrated knife. Cut the tomatoes into thick slices, about half an inch. Some cooks core them first, but I leave the cores if they are tender. That is part of the fruit. Arrange the slices on a wide platter, overlapping slightly. Mix your colors and sizes. Let the plate look abundant and generous, like something gathered from a garden.

   A dull knife crushes tomato cells and loses juice to the cutting board. Sharpen your knife or use serrated, which saws rather than presses.
3. 3

   Season immediately

   Scatter fleur de sel over the tomatoes the moment they are sliced. The salt draws out juice and begins to season the fruit. You will see droplets beading on the surface within minutes. This is what you want. Taste a small piece. Adjust salt. Every tomato is different.

4. 4

   Tear the basil

   Take your basil leaves and tear them by hand into rough pieces, letting them fall across the tomatoes. Tearing releases more fragrance than cutting and gives you irregular shapes that look alive. Do not chiffonade. This is not that kind of salad.

   Basil bruises easily and turns black where metal touches it. If you must use a knife, use the sharpest one you have and work quickly.
5. 5

   Finish with olive oil

   Drizzle your best olive oil over everything. Use a generous hand. The oil should pool in the low places and coat each slice. If your oil does not taste like something, like olives, like grass, like pepper, find better oil. This is not the place for neutral fat. Add black pepper if you like, though I often leave it off. The tomatoes and basil are doing all the work.

6. 6

   Serve immediately

   Bring the platter to the table within five minutes of dressing. Set out good bread to soak up the juices that collect at the bottom. Those juices, tinged pink and golden with oil, are the best part. Do not let them go to waste.

Chef Tips

• •Buy tomatoes that smell like tomatoes. Hold them near your nose. If there is no perfume, there will be no flavor. Walk away and come back next week.
• •Fleur de sel matters here. Its delicate crystals dissolve slowly and add texture. Coarse kosher salt works, but fine table salt dissolves too fast and can over-season before you notice.
• •Your olive oil is doing real work in this dish. Use something you would happily drink from a spoon. If the bottle has been open for months, it has likely gone flat. Fresh oil, pressed within the year, makes everything sing.
• •If August has passed, let the recipe rest until next year. Out-of-season tomatoes grown in greenhouses will only disappoint you. Make something else and wait.

Advance Preparation

• •This salad cannot be made ahead. Slice and dress the tomatoes moments before serving. Salted tomatoes left sitting become watery and lose their texture.
• •Basil can be washed and dried several hours ahead, stored wrapped loosely in a damp paper towel at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)