This robustly seasoned, almost meaty tomato salad was inspired by Mexican salsa macha, a savory-spicy condiment made with dried chilies, garlic, nuts and seeds that are fried in oil, then pureed.
In this recipe from our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” we skip the blender and deconstruct the salsa, adding the ingredients directly to the salad — the fried peanuts and sesame seeds add texture that contrasts beautifully against meaty tomatoes.
For an especially colorful salad, use heirloom tomatoes of different hues. You also can combine tomato varieties and sizes for more varied texture and appearance. Salting the tomatoes and letting them stand deepens their flavor and softens them slightly for extra succulence and juiciness. Halve any smaller tomatoes, like grape or cherry, so the salt can season the flesh.
When toasting the peanuts and sesame seeds, be sure to use a neutral oil such as grapeseed. Extra-virgin olive oil will lose its flavor when heated to the temperature needed to fry the peanuts. And when salting the tomatoes, kosher salt is best. The large granules distribute more evenly and won’t clump the way table salt can when tossed with moist ingredients
Tomato Salad with Peanuts, Cilantro and Chipotle-Sesame Dressing
Start to finish: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons neutral oil
¼ cup roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons sesame seeds OR 1 medium garlic clove, thinly sliced OR both
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into ½-inch wedges (see headnote)
1½ cups lightly packed fresh cilantro OR basil OR flat-leaf parsley OR a combination, torn if large
Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium, combine the oil and peanuts. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peanuts to a paper towel-lined plate.
To the same saucepan over medium, add the sesame seeds. Cook, stirring, until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, then stir in the chipotle and adobo sauce, vinegar and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, in a serving bowl, toss the tomatoes with ½ teaspoon salt; let stand for about 10 minutes. Chop the peanuts.
Spoon the chipotle-sesame mixture over the tomatoes. Add the cilantro and peanuts, then stir gently. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Optional garnish: Flaky salt or crumbled cotija cheese or both.