Crunchy Cherry Tomato Salad with Carrots & Celery
Submitted by bakealot
Crunchy make-ahead salad with halved cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, celery, and fresh basil in a sweet cider vinegar dressing. Gets better the longer it sits in the fridge.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
0 minREADY
6 hrsThink of this as a vegetable relish that doubles as a salad. It’s crunchy, bright, and actually improves with time.
Firm cherry tomatoes, sliced carrots, celery, and green onions marinate in a light dressing of safflower oil, apple cider vinegar, dark brown sugar, and celery seed. A few hours in the fridge and the flavors meld together while the vegetables stay crisp.
Fresh basil gets tossed in right before serving so it stays vivid and fragrant.
Make it in the morning and serve it at dinner. That’s the whole point.
Kitchen Tips
- Use firm cherry tomatoes. Soft ones will turn mushy after marinating
- Baby carrots straight from the bag are the right size. No peeling, no slicing
- Peel the celery strings with a vegetable peeler for a cleaner bite. It takes 30 seconds and makes a real difference
- Toss with the basil at the last minute. Basil bruises and darkens if it sits too long in acid
Ingredients
Directions
Put tomatoes, carrots, celery and green onions in 3-quart dish.
Combine remaining ingredients, except basil, in small dish.
Add to vegetables.
Gently toss to coat vegetables with dressing.
Cover airtight and refrigerate up to 5 hours.
To serve, toss salad with basil. Adjust seasonings, sugar and vinegar as desired.
Use slotted spoon to transfer to serving dish.
Serve chilled.
Salad is relishlike so it benefits from being mixed several hours in advance.
Toss the salad with the basil just before serving.
Firm chery tomatoes make a diffrence as they hold up well in the salad.
The short-cut packaged baby carrots in the produce bins are the perfect size for this salad.
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