Sumac, Sesame, Tomatoes & Cucs OH ME OH MY!

So in professional kitchens, there’s often a daily “family meal”. When the chefs and cooks throw together whatever needs to be used and eaten and dish out a filling meal for everyone to fuel up on before a big night of service. I think family is a fun and necessary part of the day as we can go long hours without even taking a bite of food or a sip of water…trust me, I know that is not a sustainable way to live or work. I made a version of this salad for family one time at one of my last restaurant jobs, and I have been fixated every since. Bright, delicious summer tomatoes paired with ice-cold cucumbers and tons of fresh herbs and seasonings…. that’s my kind of salad!

Ingredients

• 2 beautiful ripe juicy heirloom tomatoes (or a large handful of a ripe cherry variety) chopped into larger bite-size chunks

• 2 roughly chopped cucumbers

• 1 bunch of roughly chopped fresh herbs

  • you can use anything you have- I had parsley, dill, and mint so that’s what I used

• The juice of 1 lemon

• 1 large glug of good olive oil (EVOO)

• 1 large splash of red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp of very brown toasted sesame seeds

• 1-2 tsp of sumac seasoning

• fresh cracked salt and pepper

Method

• Clean your produce

• Give your tomatoes and cucumbers a rough chop

  • You want them to be bite size or a little larger

• Toss your cucumber and tomatoes in a bowl with salt

• Add squeeze the lemon juice, a glug of the EVOO, and a splash of the red wine

• Add your seeds and spices and taste

  • Adjust the salt, acid, and fat as needed and enjoy :)