Tomato Salad with Bottarga
By Bottarga Turkey
The simplest demonstration of what bottarga does: it replaces the salt on a tomato and adds length behind it. Use tomatoes at the peak of ripeness, then do almost nothing else.
- Serves
- 2 to 4
- Preparation
- 10 minutes
- Cooking
- None
- Total
- 10 minutes
Recommended formatGrated bottarga: Casa Bottarga UmamiHow much bottarga: About 3–5 g per person, grated over the finished plate.
Ingredients
- 500 g ripe tomatoes, ideally mixed varieties, at room temperature
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- A few basil leaves, torn
- 10 g bottarga, finely grated
- Black pepper
- A little flaky sea salt, only if needed
Method
- 01Slice the tomatoes thickly, or halve them if they are small, and lay them in a single layer on a wide plate.
- 02Leave them for five minutes so they release a little juice, and that juice becomes part of the dressing.
- 03Spoon the olive oil over the tomatoes and turn them once so every surface is coated.
- 04Scatter the torn basil over the plate and add a turn of black pepper.
- 05Grate the bottarga evenly over the top and let it sit for a minute before serving.
- 06Taste one slice. Only add flaky salt if it genuinely needs it; usually it does not.
Substitutions
Paper-thin slices from a whole lobe work beautifully laid over the tomatoes instead of grating. Out of tomato season, use good peaches or ripe figs and less bottarga.
Serving suggestion
Serve with bread to mop the plate, before or alongside grilled fish.