The Herby Addition To Boost The Flavor Of Tomato Salad

The beauty of a great tomato salad is in its freshness and simplicity. There are plenty of great salad recipes out there that load up on the toppings with extra veggies, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, you name it. However, some of the most satisfying salads are the ones that showcase a single star, and tomato salads are just that kind of dish. It's all about that balance of sweetness and tanginess from a fresh juicy sliced tomato, and everything else around it is only there to lift it up or be lifted by it. But that doesn't mean you can just chop up some tomatoes and call it a day. There are plenty of subtle additions that can highlight your fresh tomatoes while still keeping them at the center of the dish, and these include gremolata, which is a very simple herby topping to make.

If the summer were a condiment, it would probably taste like gremolata. An Italian topping traditionally scattered over meat dishes like osso buco, gremolata is a fresh combination of finely chopped parsley, grated lemon zest, and garlic. That's it and that's all you need. It's herbal and refreshing, and it has the pungent tang of garlic, giving it three things tomatoes absolutely love. The garlicky flavor and the sweet citrus bite of lemon zest can help bring out the natural flavors of your tomatoes, while mildly bitter parsley balances out the sweet and acidic mixture with some earthy greens.

As gremolata is such a simple mixture, much of what's good about it comes from the technique of preparing it. Gremolata is traditionally made by hand because it should be textural and a little crunchy from the fresh garlic, while modern equipment will quickly grind it into a wet paste. Instead, use a microplane to grate both the lemon zest and the garlic. A microplane makes it easy to zest lemons without getting any bitter pith, and grating ruptures garlic in a way that makes it more flavorful and aromatic. Chop the parsley with a knife, then chop the whole mixture again to help bring the ingredients together. Gremolata can also be easily customized with other additions, such as red pepper to add a little extra spice and flavor.

The great thing about gremolata is that even though it can be a real boost to any dish, none of the individual ingredients are going to overpower anything. That makes it versatile enough to top any version of tomato salad. A mix of meaty tomatoes and gremolata by itself will make a tasty side, but the topping's flavor-boosting ability also shines through in Caprese salad, tomato and citrus salad, cucumber tomato salad, and others. You may think you have the best tomato salad recipe out there, but there isn't one that won't get better with gremolata.