Bloody Mary Tomato Salad

It's the part of the garden season that I have been most looking forward to, the day I have anticipated since the day I had to pull out my tomato plants last fall: TOMATO SEASON IS HERE!!!

And I'm only a little excited, just in case you couldn't tell by the all caps scream and exclamation points, ha ha!  If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you've likely caught on to the fact that I love tomatoes and all things made with tomatoes.  They are both my most favorite and most agonizing garden decisions every spring.  There are simply too many tomatoes and too little garden space each year (already my list of potential tomato varieties for next year's garden is ridiculously unrealistic).  It will probably be another week or two until all of the tomato plants are ripening, but we are already off to a great start with a good variety of tomatoes.

The Sungold and Indigo Rose tomatoes have already been producing for all or most of July.  While I'm enjoying the bright and sweet Sungold cherry tomatoes, the Indigo Rose tomatoes have been a bit of a let down.  There is no doubt they are a gorgeous tomato, but underneath the indigo skin they are somewhat lacking in the flavor department (at least for my taste).  In the past few weeks, all of the Roma tomato varieties have started to ripen.  Fresh Salsa has been really good.  The tomatoes are compact and very meaty (hardly any seeds).  The generically named Roma tomato and my ever dependable Big Mama, have  given up just one ripe tomato each so far, but both were definitely worth the wait.  But the star of the tomato season thus far is hands down the Orange Wellington.  This large golden tomato is dense, meaty, and almost citrus-y sweet. This one is very likely to make a repeat appearance in the garden next year!

With a tomato collection like this, there was only one thing to do: dice them all up for a beautiful and colorful tomato salad.  I've been saving this recipe for a while, waiting until I had a good assortment of tomatoes in various colors.  The visual appeal is really great, but I also really loved the flavor, especially the combination of the sweet tomatoes and hot Tabasco sauce.  I was also happy to include a small red onion and a few red scallions from the garden, which were exceptionally good after marinating in the vinegar. The salad got rave reviews at the party we brought it to this weekend.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do have to admit that in my rush to prepare this salad, I accidentally omitted the tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce from the original recipe, so I similarly omitted it from my adaptation of the recipe as well.  If you're curious, throw it in (I will next time I make the salad), if not, the salad will still be delicious.

Bloody Mary Tomato Salad
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
1-2 lbs assorted tomatoes
1/2 cup celery heart (about 3 stalks), diced
1/4 cup green olives, halved + 1 tablespoon olive brine
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the diced red onion and half of the vinegar and allow to marinate while you prepare the rest of the salad. 

Dice larger tomatoes into half-inch pieces and cut cherry tomatoes in half.  Add the tomatoes, celery, and olives to the bowl with the onions.  In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining vinegar, olive brine, horseradish, Tabasco sauce, and olive oil.  Pour over the salad and gently toss to combine all ingredients.  Allow salad to sit for one hour before serving for optimal flavor.

Recipe adapted from Four Seasons of Food