Taste of Sunshine Salad

Heirloom tomatoes, in all their higgledy-piggledy beauty of colours, and sun-kissed nectarines with their golden-fleshed (or demure white-fleshed) beauty, encapsulate for me the height of summer. So how about giving them a love match? 

I’ve done precisely that with the remains of my heirloom tomato haul and some bargain yellow-fleshed nectarine farmer’s market find. They mix and match in terms of flavour magnificiently but I found just a hint of the saltiness and piquancy of just a sprinkling of crumbled feta lifted them into the luxury and unforgettable class. A simple dressing of fat-free dressing with a little chopped basil would suffice for this light salad pairing or starter dish but, with the feta as inspiration, I drizzled mine with some tzatziki dressing. The cool yogurt, mint and cucumber dressing or dip can be made from scratch very easily or you can buy a good ready-prepared one for speed.

TASTE OF SUNSHINE SALAD

METRIC/US

1 large ripe nectarine

100 g/4 oz tomatoes, I used a selection of heirloom ones

25 g/1 oz reduced-fat or light feta

2 tbsp fat-free French dressing (flavoured with chopped fresh basil) or tzatziki dressing

METHOD

1.  Halve the nectarine, remove and discard the stone then slice the flesh into bite-sized pieces or chop if preferred.

2.  Chop or slice the tomatoes according to size and place on a serving plate with the nectarines.

3.  Crumble the feta and sprinkle over the salad.

4.  Drizzle with the dressing to serve.

SERVES 2

WLS PORTION: 1/2-1

V suitable for Vegetarians

CALORIES PER PORTION: 77

PROTEIN: 4.5g

CARBOHYDRATE: 10.4G

FAT: 2.2g

And if, like me, you still have a glut of tomatoes here are some more ways to use them in bariatric-friendly dishes:

*  as a Salsa – perfect for serving with bbq fare and plain roasted or grilled offerings. Also great on rice cakes, and as a dip for vegetable crudites. Recipe here

*  as a part of a pack-up-and-go Salad, like this shake and serve chicken pasta salad. Recipe here

*  on a Pizza – our bariatric-friendly version is hard to beat and on the table in just 10 minutes. Recipe here

*  for Stuffing and Baking with your favourite ragu style mixture. Recipe for ragu here

*  or explore our website further for Gazpacho, Tomato Stall Salad and Tomato Stall Tart or use to make a frittata or serve roasted with poached eggs.