Tomato Salad with Mortadella and Ricotta
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The addition of luscious mortadella and creamy ricotta kicks up the simple tomato salad to full meal status. We can’t think of a better way to eat fresh tomatoes at home.
While we enjoy eating fresh tomatoes all year in Portugal, we don’t have access to the remarkable tomato variety that’s readily available in America. So, we jumped into action when we noticed a crate of “Cherokee” tomatoes in the fruit section at our local Spanish hypermarket. But we were skeptical and wondered if they’d be similar to the big, sweet Cherokee purple tomatoes we used to buy at Philadelphia farmers markets along with others from a range of hundreds of heirloom tomato varietals offered every summer season.
Successs! While these tomatoes were a bit more red and green than the Cherokees we’d previously eaten in the States, we found them to be no less tasty. They were juicy and sweet – a perfect snack with just a little salt and olive oil. But, after we returned to the market and bought more tomatoes, we got creative and added mortadella and ricotta to the mix. The result was bold, fresh and creamy.
It may seem a bit antithetical to add meat and cheese to a fresh tomato salad; however, there’s something special about the way that salty mortadella and creamy ricotta mixes with the sweet, adicic umami of an heirloom tomato. We’ve already made the salad multiple times – it’s a quick and tasty dinner option that tastes great.
Ingredients
This ramped up salad is essentially a five-ingredient dish not counting salt, pepper and optional chili flake. There’s no cooking involved, just some creative assembly. Here’s every ingredient that you need:
Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.
How To Make This Ramped Up Tomato Salad
This preparation of this salad is all about easy assembly. The trickiest steps come in seasoning and mixing the tomatoes and neatly assembling the salad.
Begin by coring your tomatoes. Take out the stem and eliminate and any tough fibrous parts of the fruit. Cut the cored tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.
Next, place the tomato pieces into a mixing bowl and generously sprinkle them with salt.
A chef once told us that tomatoes take salt very well. This so true. So, when you add the salt, don’t be bashful. Since the salt will cause the tomatoes to break down a bit and get juicy, you need to mix the tomatoes with a gentle hand.
Now it’s time for assembly.
First, lay the tomatoes down (again, gently) in a circle on a wide flat bowl.
Next, lay down the mortadella after you shape the slices into florets.
We like to wrap the slices around our fingers and then fold back the tops to make a floral shape. Don’t stress – the slices need to be nice and neat, not perfect.
Evenly lay the ricotta in teaspoon dollops on top of the tomatoes. You can form the ricotta into quenelles (see the photo at the top of this article) if you’re feeling fancy but that’s certainly not mandatory.
Grind black pepper on top of the ricotta (not the tomatoes). If you opt to add a bit of chili flake, gently sprinkle it on top of the ricotta too.
Drizzle olive oil on top of the entire salad.
Garnish evenly with torn basil leaves.
That’s it. You’re now ready to eat the tasty tomato salad.
Serve with bread. Be sure to dip the bread into the salad’s juice for maximum enjoyment.
Tomato Salad with Mortadella and Ricotta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ripe tomatoes (Can be one whole tomato or a few tomatoes)
- 3 ounces mortadella (sliced super thin)
- 4 teaspoons ricotta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1/3 cup fresh basil (torn)
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste – to grind over the ricotta)
- 1/8 teaspoon chili flake (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the tomato into bite sized pieces after you remove the pulpy, woody core.
- Place the cut tomatoes in a mixing bowl and sprinkle a generous amount of salt. Gently mix the salt and tomatoes.
- Gently lay the tomatoes in a circle, using a large spoon, on a flat white bowl.
- Roll the mortadella slices into florets by rolling them around your two fingers and folding the tops to create a flower shape. The mortadella flowers don't need to be perfect, just attractive.
- Using a small spoon, place 4 to 5 dollops of ricotta on top of the tomatoes. Grind pepper to taste on top of the ricotta.
- Spread the torn basil evenly on top of the salad. Drizzle olive oil over the salad evenly. Serve with a large spoon.
Nutrition
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. We strongly encourage you to use ripe seasonal tomatoes in this salad.
Mortadella is meat product in which pork cuts are ground into a fine paste and then molded into a sausage casing to cure. It’s traditionally served in sandwiches and on charcuterie boards. However, it also it’s also a great ingredient for pizzas, pastas and salads.
It’s believed that mortadella’s roots are in Bologna, Italy.
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I will be trying this ASAP! Looks like a winner guys!