WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS? This simple salad combines bright tomatoes, creamy avocado, and grassy poblanos. For big tomato flavor, we salted the tomatoes to draw out their juice, then reduced the liquid with aromatic ingredients to make a flavorful dressing. If you don’t have a salad spinner, wrap the bowl with plastic wrap after the salted tomatoes have sat; gently shake to remove seeds and excess liquid. Strain the liquid and proceed with the recipe as directed. If you have less than ½ cup of juice after spinning, use the entire amount of juice and reduce it to 3 tablespoons as directed.
SERVES: 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 1½ pounds cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 avocados, halved, pitted, and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Toss tomatoes, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a large bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Transfer tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a salad spinner and spin until seeds and excess liquid have been removed, 45 to 60 seconds, stopping to redistribute tomatoes several times during spinning.
- Return tomatoes to the bowl.
- Strain ½ cup of tomato liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup; discard any extra liquid.
- Bring the tomato liquid, vinegar, garlic, and coriander to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and let it cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes.
- Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in oil until incorporated.
- Add avocados, poblano, and cilantro to the bowl with tomatoes.
- Drizzle with the dressing and gently toss to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
