This salad is one of those simple and almost non-elaborate dishes in which the product is what is really important;
In addition to the delicious sensation of eating a tomato that tastes like tomato just when spring appears the leg, the temperature rises and some sunny days you flirt with the idea of changing the lentils for the gazpacho.
While the rest of the tomato varieties begin to take shape and take on color, there is one that is about to end its season: the raf, king and lord of the tomato winter.
Originals from the Vega de Almería, where they were obtained by selection at the end of the 60s, it is an aromatic, tasty variety with sweet and acid contrasts -in the same tomato- that make them a delicious snack with the simpler preparation (or without it, you can eat them in bites as if they were an apple).
At the end of the season, the specimens - usually marketed as "raf mini" - are smaller and even sweeter, with a more concentrated flavor and a slightly tougher skin but without being annoying.
It is easy to find them in markets, greengrocers and well-stocked supermarkets, although not everything that is sold as such is raf: when in doubt, it is best to look at the traceability on the labels;
They can also be purchased online, directly from the producer.
The other gem of this salad is Cebreiro, a Galician cheese with a Designation of Quality and a most curious story that was recovered in the early 90s, when it was about to disappear.
There are four producers who make it;
I usually buy the fresco from Queixerías Castelo de Brañas in Ego Galego (the curated version by Carlos Reija Fernández is also very good, but I can't find it around here).
It is a pasteurized whole milk cheese, shaped like a mushroom, with a fat content between 45% and 60% and a highly addictive point of freshness and acidity.
If you can't get your hands on it, a Greek cheese like feta or manouri or a goat roll can be decent substitutes.
The pickle that we propose will not only allow you to see how easy it is to prepare these onions at home, but also to release that vinegar-supposedly- from Modena that you don't really know who brought or bought one day and then it seemed too sweet, something which can be an advantage when what you are looking for is a bittersweet result.
If you are lazy to prepare the onions from scratch because peeling them does not exactly put you in zen mode, you can give them a turn to some that are already pickled.
In this case, dispense with the water and salt and simply drain them and add the Modena vinegar -in this case the honey will help make them a little sweeter- warm.
After a couple of days, your homemade-onions-special-edition-wagons will be ready for salads, sandwiches, accompanying cheese boards or serving as an aperitif.
As tomatoes already have a point of acidity and sweetness, and the onions also provide both, for me the salad only needs a good splash of oil, salt and pepper to be perfectly dressed.
You can top it - and many other dishes, such as vegetable creams, stews or legume stews - with the green part of chives, leeks or minced or sliced garlic.
In the case of garlic we will get a kind of "ajollino" - I hope the Fundéu recognizes my merit -, with a much smoother, fresh and herbaceous flavor, as well as a much easier digestion than that of this raw lily.
Difficulty
The one to find some good raf, the Cebreiro and peel the onions.
Ingredients
For 4 people
For the onions
300 g of saucer onions
150 ml of Modena vinegar
50 ml of water
1 tablespoon of honey (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
What's more
About 600-800 g of raf tomatoes (if possible, at different ripening points)
200 g Cebreiro cheese (or feta, manouri or soft roll type goat cheese)
60 g of black olives (I used empeltre)
Tender garlic stalk, leek or chives, or sweet onion
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Preparation
At least a couple of days before, make a cross-shaped cut at the base of the onions and blanch them for a couple of minutes in boiling water.
Cool and peel them.
Heat the Modena vinegar with the water and salt and, if you like, add the honey.
Dilute the solids well and, when it is hot but not boiling, pour it over the peeled onions.
Cover well and put in the fridge.
Let stand at least 48 hours before eating.
Cut the tomatoes -at room temperature- lengthwise, remove the peduncle, cut them into wedges that fit well in the mouth and put them in a source or bowl.
Cover with the crumbled cheese with your hands - it is good that there are pieces of different sizes left - and with the tender garlic, green of the leek or chopped chives (or the onion in a fine feather).
Add onions in Modena vinegar to taste, also cut into wedges or slices.
Season to taste with oil, salt and pepper and top with the olives.
Serve at the moment.
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