Three tomato salad recipes that definitely aren’t boring

Easy to make, full of fresh flavour and healthy, tomato salads are perfect whether you’re looking for a light side dish, to jazz up your packed lunch or something super simple for dinner.

British Tomato Fortnight (29 May-11 June) is a great excuse to try out some of our favourite tomato salad recipes.

Putting together a Buddha bowl, which is infinitely adaptable to whatever you’ve got in the fridge, is a great place to start. The one below uses whizzed up cauliflower in place of rice, for an extra health kick.

The roasted tomato, asparagus and feta salad is all about quality ingredients and simplicity, which make a real feel-good dish.

Lastly, combine roasted tomatoes with some of the freshest flavours of spring to make a warm salad with purple-sprouting broccoli, halloumi and anchovies.

Delicious.

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Using fresh Piccolos, we’ve created this deconstructed “fajita” Buddha bowl featuring “rice” made from whizzed up cauliflower. Delicious.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 red onions

2 red peppers

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 400g can black beans

2 tbsp cider vinegar

Generous pinch smoked paprika

1 red chilli, halved

Lime juice, to taste

2 corn on the cob, halved

1 cauliflower, chopped

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

350g Piccolo cherry tomatoes

To serve:

1 avocado, sliced

4 radishes, sliced

Small handful coriander leaves

Lime wedges

Chipotle paste (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Cut the red onion into wedges and slice the red pepper into quarters. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

Heat some oil in a pan and add the garlic. Fry for a few minutes over a low heat. Drain the black beans, retaining a little of the water they came in. Add the beans to the pan with the cider vinegar and smoked paprika. Add the halved chilli to the pan.

Cook the beans for about 15 minutes, adding a splash of the retained can water if they start to dry out.  Add a splash of lime juice at the end of the cooking time.

Meanwhile, cook the corn in a pan of boiling water for about five minutes until slightly soft but not completely tender. Drain and dry the corn.

Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it looks like grains. Dry fry the cumin seeds in a non-stick frying pan and then remove from the pan. Add a dash of oil and the cauliflower and fry until toasted. Add the cumin back to the pan. Keep warm.Heat a griddle pan and griddle the boiled corn on the cob halves until nicely charred. Set aside the corn and then char the Piccolo cherry tomatoes in the griddle pan.

Serve the cauliflower in bowls, topped with the black beans. Arrange the red onions, red peppers, sliced avocado, radishes, coriander leaves, sweetcorn, lime wedges and Piccolo cherry tomatoes on top. Serve with a dash of chipotle paste if liked.

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This salad is all about quality ingredients and simplicity. Roasted Piccolo cherry tomatoes and asparagus flecked with fennel seeds, lemon zest and feta make a real feel-good dish.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 small bunch asparagus, trimmed

400g Piccolo cherry tomatoes, still on the vine

Extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely sliced

1 tsp fennel seeds

2 sprigs rosemary

30g feta

1 lemon, zest of 1 lemon, and dash of the juice

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C/gas 5. Place the asparagus and Piccolo cherry tomatoes on a baking tray and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Scatter over the garlic and fennel seeds. Lay the rosemary sprigs on the side.

Roast for about 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is cooked through.

Remove from the oven and crumble over the feta. Add the zest, lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with a dash more olive oil. You may not need to season with salt as the feta will bring salt to the dish already.

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Combine roasted Piccolos with some of the freshest flavours of spring to make this easy salad with the addition of chopped anchovy in the dressing.

Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

200g whole Piccolo cherry tomatoes, off the vine

1 whole garlic bulb

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Few sprigs thyme

250g new potatoes, or ideally Jersey Royal, halved

250g block halloumi, sliced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 anchovies, finely chopped

200g purple-sprouting broccoli, broken into small florets

Small bunch fresh mint, chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat the oven to 170C fan/gas 3 (fan). Put the Piccolo cherry tomatoes in a roasting tin, break the garlic bulb up into cloves and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Nestle the thyme sprigs in with the tomatoes and roast for 20 minutes.

Drain off the liquid to set aside for the dressing. Once cool enough to handle, pop the garlic out of each clove and set aside.

Boil the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through - this will depend on the size of the potatoes.

Heat a griddle to hot and griddle the sliced halloumi until nicely browned and cooked through.

For the dressing, measure out 2 tablespoons of the reserved Piccolo cooking liquid into a small bowl, add the two tablespoons of vinegar, four tablespoons of olive oil and the chopped anchovies. Whisk together.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in a pan or wok and add the broccoli. Cook for a minute, then tip in the drained potatoes, once they are covered in the oil, add the tomatoes and garlic to the pan and stir.

Remove from the heat. Arrange the warm salad on four plates, top with the halloumi and pour over the dressing. Finish with a little freshly ground black pepper and the chopped mint. Serve warm.

Learn more about British Tomato Fortnight at britishtomatoes.co.uk/british-tomato-fortnight