ARF/5-A-Day #85

Last week I spent a lot of time sifting through my tried-and-true recipe file. The thing is humongous and one of these days I am going to organize it. Really. I was looking for a few cookie recipes for some catering jobs last week and going through recipe by recipe to find what I was looking for, I breezed past lots of old favorites. Favorites that I haven’t made in ages.

As I pulled out a few recipes for the catering gig, I also started quickly amassing another pile … oooh, I remember this recipe… Gosh, I haven’t made that recipe in like forever… This was an OMG recipe, must.make.soon. And before you knew it, I had a good 20 old favorite recipes that I was dying to make, one of which was perfect for tonight’s ARF/5-A-Day roundup.

Way back when, when The Husband and I were still in the throes of early dating, we went to dinner at my sister-in-law’s place and she made this fab Tomato and Salami Salad as a starter. I never did get her recipe for it, but a few years later, I found one that, if not the same, was pretty close, and quickly became a favorite. It takes just minutes to pull together and looks pretty enough for company. Packed with flavor, and the perfect vehicle to take advantage of the last of the juicy, red, ripe Summer tomatoes, it hit the table tonight.

A year ago today… missing mojo.
Two years ago today… a lousy picture, but a great pancake.

Now onto what everyone else made for the round-up. Fresh from the Oven was thinking tomatoes today too, and made the beautiful Tomatoes with Fresh Peach and Basil Vinaigrette, a combination I never would have thought of.

More Bread and Cheese, Please is back tonight, taking care of our sweet tooth with her Baby Zucchini Cakes:

Next up is a hearty Provencal Fish Soup from Blog Appetit.

What Smells So Good takes advantage of her garden’s bounty to whip up Lighter Veggie Cannelloni:

Newcomer Solange from Pebble Soup joins us this week with her Endives and Ham recipe:

Claire from Cooking Is Medicine finishes us off this week with her new favorite lunch:

Tomato and Salami Salad

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I skip)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel (I skip)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 oz hard salami, thinly sliced
3 large ripe tomatoes

For dressing, whisk lemon juice, parsley, basil, garlic, lemon peel, salt and pepper in small bowl. Whisking continuously, add oil in slow steady stream whisk until oil is thoroughly blended.

Spread salami slices out in large shallow bowl or casserole. Pour dressing over slices. Lift slices with fork to allow dressing to flow underneath. Let stand covered at room temperature, turning slices over once, 1 hour.

Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices. Top each tomato slice with a salami slice and arrange overlapping on large platter. Drizzle and dressing remaining over slices.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Cate’s Notes: Instead of plating the salami separately, I layer the salami and tomatoes on the plate, pour the dressing over it and let it chill in the fridge for about an hour. That way, the tomatoes get the chance to soak up some of the yummy dressing as well. Right before serving, I sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper.