Strawberry And Tomato Salad With Feta And Basil

With the sweet yet tartness of fresh strawberries and the juciness of cherry tomatoes make this simple strawberry and tomato salad like summer in a bowl. Throw in the crunch of pistachios and tang of feta cheese and you have the perfect lunch or appetizer/side dish.

Strawberries and summer go together like the proverbial peas and carrots as Forrest Gump would tell us. I’m a great believer in eating fruits and veggies in season and not when they are shipped in from God knows where at any time of year.

I remember how my Dad used to refuse the sugar in favour of a dusting of black pepper to flavour his strawberries. He swore it brought out the flavour of the berries, and yes, it certainly does, but to our childish minds this was the ultimate sacrilege, an abomination. Surely only sweet things should dance together?

Over the years (and there have been a few) my tastes have changed and as an adult, I can, of course, appreciate the mixing of sweet with savoury and the different partnerships that can enliven our culinary palates.

So this week I thought I would feature the strawberry in all its glory. That gorgeous red berry so dear to the British heart and in this first post I offer you a savoury recipe in memory of my Dad who grew fabulous tomatoes and would have really been tickled to see them mixed with his strawberries, and of course black pepper too.

You can check out some of my favourite strawberry recipes in my top 10 strawberry recipes round-up post.

Ingredients for this salad

• strawberries of course, make sure they are ripe and a good red colour, not with a lot of light green at the top
• cherry tomatoes preferably on the vine as they have more flavour
• basil
• feta (you can learn how to make your own homemade feta cheese in this post)
• Pistachios
• Olive oil and balsamic vinegar plus some salt and pepper

What type of cheese

For this strawberry and tomato salad I’ve opted for feta cheese as I love the contrast of the sweet fruits and the saltiness of the feta.

However, a soft goat’s cheese would work equally well in this salad. Steer clear of cheddar and blue cheeses as they have too strong a flavour here.

How to make this simple salad

This is just an assembly job really. The strawberries and cherry tomatoes are mixed with the feta in your serving dish. Then simply mix your salad dressing and drizzle over and sprinkle with nuts.

Serving this salad

You can serve this strawberry and tomato salad as a starter before a summery meal. Just serve in small glass dishes.

It also goes well as a side salad with simple poached salmon or chicken.

Strawberry and tomato salad is just perfect for a picnic too.

Looking for more delicious strawberry recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Eton Mess strawberry sponge cake

Strawberry and salmon salad with walnuts

Strawberry and basil pesto dessert sauce

Sweet and savoury strawberry and raspberry relish

Strawberry and lavender gin

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.