Tomato and Onion Salad with Tahini Dressing

When I started digging through the fridge for dinner what I was envisioning was a tomato-cucumber-onion salad.  Then I discovered we were out of cucumbers and I had to come up with a Plan B.  And Plan B involved this Tomato and Onion Salad with Tahini Dressing by Mark Bittman.  We had a ton of gorgeous tomatoes - including one yellow and red heirloom tomato from Whole Foods, and two beautiful ruby red tomatoes from the CSA.  We tried to take some pictures of them but none of the pictures we took really did them justice.  Oh well.  That's what happens when you cook at night in your NYC apartment with a desk lamp as lighting.

I liked this salad.  I thought it was light and fresh, and really different.  It wasn't perfect - I wish you could taste the lemon juice more, instead of mostly tasting the tahini.  And I think in the future we will seed the tomatoes a little because otherwise it's just gets a little too watery.  Alex said all he could taste was the parsley and he wants to cut down on the amount in the future, but as I've said before, I love parsley.

Recipe after the jump!

Tomato and Onion Salad with Tahini Dressing
NY Times: Diner's Journal
By Mark Bittman

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium red or white onion, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 garlic clove, peeled and minced, or to taste
1/3 cup tahini paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
4 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Soak onion in salted cold water while preparing other ingredients, about 30 minutes. Whisk or blend together garlic, tahini and cumin, and add lemon juice; the mixture will become very thick. Thin with hot water, a tablespoon at a time, just so the mixture can be spooned. (It will thin further when tossed with tomatoes.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Toss onion, tomatoes and parsley with dressing. Taste, adjust the seasonings and serve.