Name: Tomato and Vidalia Onion Salad
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 tablespoons cider vinegar; 1 teaspoon table salt; 1 garlic clove , minced; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 2 pounds ripe vine-ripened tomatoes , cored; 1 small Vidalia onion , quartered through root end and sliced thin crosswise

Why This Recipe Works

Ripe summer tomatoes need nothing more than a little olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to help them taste their best. We like to add a little sliced onion to the mix; the onion's pungency accents the sweetness and tartness of the tomatoes. For our salad, we used sweet Vidalia onion to balance the vinegar. Fruity cider vinegar called out the tomatoes' sweetness. And letting the dressed salad sit for an hour allowed the flavors to meld and drew liquid out of the tomatoes that mixed with the dressing to become an elixir so tasty that, when the tomatoes themselves were gone, we wanted to pick up the bowl and drink the dregs.

Before You Begin

If you cannot find Vidalia or other sweet onions, you can substitute a regular white or yellow onion. If substituting, place the sliced onion in a colander and rinse under cold running water for about 20 seconds before patting the slices dry with paper towels and combining them with the tomatoes. For the best results, we recommend using seasonal heirloom tomatoes here.

Instructions

Whisk oil, vinegar, salt, garlic, and pepper together in large bowl. Halve tomatoes through core, cut into 1-inch wedges, then cut wedges in half crosswise.

Add tomatoes and onion to vinaigrette and fold gently with rubber spatula to combine. Let salad sit for 1 hour at room temperature, stirring once after 30 minutes. Serve. (Salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)