"Gaucho" salad

The thing we call "Gaucho salad" is a salad inspired by one which we first encountered at the Gaucho restaurant in London. Actually, there are several such restaurants because it is a small chain. We first went to the one in Swallow Street, near Picadilly Circus, and subsequently we have been to the one in Charlotte Street. It is an Argentinian restaurant, specialising in steaks. One of the most interesting ones is the Churrasco spiral cut, marinated in herbs and oil. They also serve some very interesting wines too, many of which are not commonly found in the UK.

This salad needs to be served in a good-looking dish, to maximise the visual pleasure of the different colours of tomato. For my photo I have used my favourite Gmunden Keramik dish.



 I have taken Gaucho's basic concept and embellished it a bit... This is how I make it:

Take some (preferably home-grown) tomatoes of several different shapes, sizes and colours, and cut them into quarters (or halves if very small).

Add one shallot VERY thinly sliced.

Add a sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves, stripped from the stalk.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Apply a generous glug of red wine vinegar, or sherry vinegar, shortly before serving. Don't do this in advance, otherwise the tomatoes will go too soft.

Serve with best-quality steak!