Greek Cherry Tomato Salad

By DreiFromBK

For a cherry tomato salad recipe that wasn’t soggy, it was necessary to get rid of some of the tomato juice without throwing away flavor. So we quartered, salted, and drained the tomatoes before whirling them in a salad spinner to separate the seeds and jelly from the flesh. After we strained and discarded the seeds, we reduced the jelly to a flavorful concentrate, reuniting it with the tomatoes, minus the excess liquid

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 6
• Ingredients
• 2 2 4 pints cherry tomatoes, ripe, quartered (about 4 cups) (see note)
• Table salt
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 2 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 1 3 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 1 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 2 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Ground black pepper
• 1 1 1/2-inch small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 4 4 1 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
• 3 3 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Details

Adapted from americastestkitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Toss tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and sugar in medium bowl; let stand for 30 minutes. Transfer tomatoes to salad spinner and spin until seeds and excess liquid have been removed, 45 to 60 seconds, stirring to redistribute tomatoes several times during spinning. Return tomatoes to bowl and set aside. Strain tomato liquid through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.

2. Bring 1/2 cup tomato liquid (discard any extra), garlic, oregano, shallot, and vinegar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer mixture to small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Whisk in oil and pepper to taste until combined. Taste and season with up to 1/8 teaspoon table salt.

3. Add cucumber, olives, feta, dressing, and parsley to bowl with tomatoes; toss gently and serve.