Ingredients:
About 2 pounds of tomatoes different shapes and colors
1 small cantaloupe cubed or scooped with melon baller
1 chopped, peeled cucumber
½ red onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Dressing:
½ to 1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 TBSP good quality extra-virgin olive oil
4 TBSP cup white balsamic or apple cider vinegar
Fresh lime juice
Instructions
Depending on the size of your tomatoes, slice some in half, some into quarters and others into uneven chunks.
This will give you the beginnings of a salad that's exciting to look at and eat. Put the tomatoes into a colander and season with a good pinch of sea salt.
Give them a toss, season again and give a couple more tosses. The salt won't be drawn into the tomatoes; instead it will draw any excess moisture out, concentrating all the flavors. Leave the tomatoes in the colander on top of a bowl to stand for around 15 minutes, and then discard any juice that has come out of them.
Whisk oil, vinegar, honey or maple syrup, salt and pepper in a small bowl, or add the ingredients to a mason jar and shake to combine.
Combine basil, cantaloupe, tomatoes and cucumber in a large bowl. Add dressing; toss well.
Note:
As a variation, this salad is great topped with goat/feta cheese.
Or, leave the cantaloupe out, substitute 1 tsp oregano for the basil, and add one garlic clove (1tsp, of chopped garlic in a jar) and a finely chopped fresh jalapeno. Great by itself or add fresh mozzarella or goat/feta cheese.