Heirloom Tomato, Nectarine and Arugula Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette

by Judy Kim

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Heirloom Tomato, Nectarine and Arugula Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Yield: 4 servings

This is more of an assembly of ingredients than a recipe, which is exactly how I like to cook in the Summer. It's easy to pull together especially after a run to the Union Square Greenmarket, the largest farmers market in NYC. There's always so much to choose from, but I wanted to keep this salad simple. I like to marinate the tomatoes in the beginning to give them a garlicky touch. Letting them sit for 5 minutes or longer helps minimize the raw garlic flavor. Using a fine micro grater helps in that department too. (Grating is my favorite discovery, plus its faster than mincing!) Regardless the vinegar and nectarines will balance it out with just a touch of sweetness.  If you don't have a specialty vinegar use balsamic vinegar, it will still be delicious!

You could add some burrata to this to make this a light lunch with a crusty loaf of bread and salted butter.  A glass of rosé would be nice too.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound mix of heirloom and green tomatoes, in various shapes and sizes

1 garlic clove, grated on microplane

Flaky sea salt

5 ounces arugula

3 nectarines, pitted and sliced

1/4 cup diced red onion

Grapefruit balsamic vinegar such as The Filling Station vinegar

Extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut tomatoes in half or quarters. In a large bowl mix tomatoes with garlic and season with sea salt. Set aside for 5 minutes.

2. In a large platter arrange arugula greens, nectarines, red onion and tomatoes.

3. Drizzle with grapefruit vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. Finish with sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Garlic & Dill Yogurt Dip

by Judy Kim

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Garlic & Dill Yogurt Dip

Yield: Approximately 2 cups

Pretty sure I've never met a party dip that I didn't like, this is no exception. I make a version of this dip for almost every party I have. This is a great base that you change up easily by layering on additional flavors such as scallions, chives cayenne or even horseradish. Enjoy this for any gathering or holiday party full of friends and family. Excellent with seasonal vegetables from the farmers market. My all time favorites are carrots, fennel, a variety of radishes and those cute little baby cherry tomatoes when you can find them. It might be fun to make some baked root chips, but we all know potato chips will always be a winner.

Below I make mention to microplane the garlic, a trick I learned from my friend Mark Bello, owner of Pizza a Casa (rockin' pizza school in NYC if you haven't tried it). It's a genius trick I've not been able to stop using. Particularly great in recipes when you don't cook the garlic since it is probably the finest you will ever get the garlic and it's a huge time saver.  

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain whole yogurt

1 cup mayo, such as Hellmann's

2 garlic cloves, grated with a microplane or finely minced

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together. If possible, make this a day ahead so that all the flavors have time to bloom.

2. Serve chilled.

Suggest to add 1 teaspoon of French Vinaigrette herb mix from Penzeys Spices.