You won't believe the secret ingredient in this summery tomato salad – it adds a surprising twist
Trawl your local farmers' markets for tomatoes in a variety of colors and sizes for a visually impactful dish, which is sweet, smoky, and fragrant

Making a tomato salad is the easiest way to add gorgeous seasonal color to a summer table.
This simple but stunning summer salad is proof that a dish doesn't need to be complicated to deliver unexpectedly intense flavor and impact. And it makes a wonderfully vibrant side for an alfresco lunch menu.
Choosing a mixture of varieties of tomatoes adds not only color, but also a range of textures. Seasoning them with the smoked salt in advance gives the flavor a chance to develop, before the lavender and honey are added. I think it's one of the most impressive summer salads you can make, with minimal effort required.
Ingredients
- Serves 6
- 2 oz ripe tomatoes (a mix of different colours and sizes works best)
- A large pinch of salt or flaky smoked sea salt
- A few lavender flowers
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp good-quality honey (we used a wildflower set honey)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
The Homes and Gardens method
- Slice the tomatoes and place them on a large platter. Season with smoked sea salt and chill for 15 minutes. Scatter with the lavender flowers (freshly cut from the garden is best), breaking the flowers slightly between your fingers.
- To make the dressing, combine the vinegar and honey in a bowl or small jug until well combined and stir through the olive oil. Wild flower honey that's locally sourced is best but you can buy flavored wild flower honey from Amazon. Season with black pepper and spoon over the tomatoes to serve.
A beautiful platter that sets off the colors of the tomatoes is key to success when you're serving up to guests. We love to shop Anthropologie's platters for their distinctly European take on ceramics.
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Marina has over 15 years' experience cooking, writing, and styling food. She's written her own cookbooks, styled recipe books for top chefs, such as Marcus Wareing, and has been Food Editor for the UK's Waitrose Food Magazine as well as working for brands such as Martini, Neff, and Cuisinart.
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