I’ve based this tomato and preserved lemon salad recipe on the traditional Moroccan shlada matisha wal hamed markad. A simple fresh salad that I’ve reworked with the addition of red onion and a preserved lemon crumb.
This zesty tomato salad is a perfect summer salad to make when tomatoes are at their best. It’s a great make ahead salad. You can make the crumb, dressing, and prep the red onions, preserved lemon and herbs in advance. Then you just need to slice, quarter or chop the tomatoes just before you plan to serve up. This method makes it a perfect take along salad.
The preserved lemons bring a punch of flavour that takes lemons to the next level with a combination of citrus, floral and umami. Store bought preserved lemons are fine but why not try making your with my Easy Moroccan Preserved Lemons recipe! Homemade preserved lemons are super quick to make and there are countless ways to use them to brighten up your everyday meals.
With the addition of a plant based cheese, this fresh tomato and preserved lemon salad turns into a super flavourful vegan main dish.
This salad is a perfect side dish for my easy One Pan Moroccan Chicken and Rice recipe.
Tomato and preserved lemon salad ingredients
With the exception of the preserved lemons, this zesty tomato salad has a super flexible ingredients list.
Choose the best quality tomatoes available when you’re shopping for this recipe. I like mixing up cherry tomatoes with vine ripened or heritage tomatoes.
I always use a day old sourdough loaf to make the almost ‘fresh’ breadcrumbs.
Italian or flat leaf parsley can be paired with any kind of chives. You can also swap in coriander for either the parsley or chives.
White pepper is not mandatory. But I am gravitating towards it more and more over black pepper when I want a subtler influence on the finished dish.
Try my homemade preserved lemons recipe
I know, you have no time or preserving is too complicated – right? I get it, really, I do. But if you are curious and want a super simple recipe to ease you into preserving or pickling, my Easy Moroccan Preserved Lemons recipe is for you.
But please don’t abandon this salad recipe if you’re not interested in making your own preserved lemons—they do not need to be homemade!
Australian made preserved lemons
If opting for purchasing the preserved lemons for this recipe, turn the jar over and check whether they are made in Australia. Most jars you find in the shops are packaged in Australia but the preserved lemons are made overseas.
The one Australian made and owned brand I am aware of are the preserved lemons from Olgive & Co. This family owned and operated company locally sources both the lemons and salt in Western Australia. Their retailers are available on their website.
So if you choose to buy the preserved lemons, you can also support Australian made and family owned.
Preserved lemon crumb
For me the crumb is a super important crunchy flavour bomb element in this tomato and preserved lemon salad recipe. But, if you’re in a rush, you could swap in some pistachios for the crunch factor.
These breadcrumbs can be made in a frying pan. I prefer to bake them in the oven – with a timer set!
Preheat the oven at 160°C conventional / 140°C fan forced.
You need about 1 – 1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs. ‘Fresh’ in this context is a loose term as fresh baked bread is difficult to tear into crumbs. I use day old (or so) sourdough loaf leftovers that I have roughly torn into big chunks and frozen. I always have frozen bread available for croutons or breadcrumbs down the track.
You’re aiming for a variety of crumb sizes up to 1 centimetre squares. This is super easy to achieve from frozen chunks of bread in the food processor, using the pulse button. You can also process room temperature day old bread but do it in small batches and in short bursts.
Use half a large, preserved lemon for the crumb. Prepare the lemon quarters or halves by removing the lemon segments, leaving only the rind. Rinse the rind briefly under cold running water to remove the salt brine and pat dry.
Chop the prepared peel finely. Also chop a couple of sprigs of parsley leaves finely as well. Set both aside.
Baking method
If baking in the oven, spread the crumbs across a baking sheet. Using an olive oil spray, tossing them while spraying with oil. Alternatively, you can drizzle olive oil over the crumbs, again tossing them a few times as you drizzle. Try not to soak the crumbs with oil using this method. Sprinkle some salt across the breadcrumbs.
Bake the crumbs until golden brown (15-20 minutes) and make sure to stir them regularly to promote even browning. Stir in the chopped parsley and preserved lemon rind towards the end of the baking time. The rind can get a bit hard and unpalatable if it is added at the start.
Frying pan method
If using a frying pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on a medium-low heat before adding the breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of salt. Stir the crumbs constantly and add the chopped lemon peel and parsley after the crumbs start to brown.
Fresh lemon dressing
Despite this being a tomato and ‘preserved’ lemon salad recipe, I use fresh lemon juice in the dressing. I always add a bit of sweet to my dressings, this time honey, to balance out the acid of the lemon juice. And I’m a true believer of the theory of always the best extra virgin olive oil in your salad dressings.
Make it vibrant green
I often make my herb based dressings by hand, adding in the chopped herbs at the end. But for this recipe I make the dressing in a small ‘smoothie’ or ‘personal’ blender. It processes the herbs into a gorgeous vibrant green emulsified dressing. An immersion blender works just as well.
The vibrant green of the dressing contrasts beautifully with the colours of the tomatoes. And you don’t want that vibrancy to get lost when serving the salad. So, when plating up, I put the dressing on the bottom of the platter or individual salad bowls, and layer that salad on top of the dressing.
Prepping the preserved lemon and red onions
This zesty tomato salad uses 1 large preserved lemon. This equates to about 2 medium or 4 to 5 small lemons. As with the crumb, prepare the preserved lemons by removing the lemon segments, leaving only the rind. Rinse the rind briefly under cold running water to remove the salt brine and pat dry. There will be plenty of salt left in the peel.
Slice the lemon quarters into thin long slices about 4-5mm thick. Set aside until you assemble the salad.
My preference is red onions for this salad and they are my go-to onions for salads. White onions also work. I use a small handheld mandolin to slice the onions. As you can see, I use a cut resistant glove. I find the holder attachments that come with these mandolins virtually useless, if not dangerous. I’ve opted for circles of red onion (as of course) they’ll look great when I layer the tomato and preserved lemon salad. But cut them however you like. These onion circles were 4mm thick.
If using a knife, I recommend cutting your onions in half and slicing half circles as thin as you can. I don’t recommend trying to cut thin circles by hand, you’ll end up needing to bandage a couple of cut fingers!
This is a salad for tomato season!
This is my go-to salad when tomatoes are at their best. And, if an interesting delivery of heirloom tomatoes arrive at my local market, this zesty tomato salad is the first salad I think of.
Don’t feel you have to stay with sliced large tomatoes as any flavourful ripe tomatoes will make a create an interesting and delicious version of this recipe. And, if you’re in a rush, forget the goal of even slices and go for a haphazard chop, which can result in a really dynamic looking salad. This time I opted to include some cherry tomatoes.
Cut up / slice the tomatoes just before serving the salad. And, as noted above, I prefer to put the dressing on the bottom of the salad bowls or serving platter and let everyone spoon it over the salad as they go. You could also serve the dressing on the side. Using this method makes sure the tomatoes stay the hero of the dish.
Goes great with Moroccan chicken and rice
One pan Moroccan chicken and rice in a white ceramic baking dish and a served dish ready to eat on a blue linen napkin.
Tomato and Preserved Lemon Salad
Equipment
- Smoothie/personal blender (optional)
- Food processor (optional)
- Mandolin (optional)
- Large shallow serving bowl or 4 individual soup bowls.
Ingredients
- 750 g tomatoes
- 1 large red onion
- 1 ½ large preserved lemon
- 1 – 1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
- large bunch flat leaf parsley
- small bunch of garlic chives
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- White pepper
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients.
- Wash and dry the herbs (I use a salad spinner). Wrap herbs loosely in paper towel and leave in fridge until required.
- Remove lemon segments from preserved lemons and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
For the preserved lemon crumb:
- Preheat the oven at 160°C conventional / 140°C fan forced.
- Spread breadcrumbs on a medium sized baking sheet and either spray with olive oil while tossing the breadcrumbs or finely drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the crumbs and toss through.
- Generously sprinkle with salt.
- Bake in preheated oven, stirring the crumbs every 5 minutes until they start to turn golden brown (10-15 minutes).
- Meanwhile, chop 2 tablespoons of parsley and cut half a preserved lemon into 5mm squares.
- Add parsley and preserved lemon to crumbs and continue baking and stirring until crumbs are golden brown.
- Cool to room temperature and set aside.
For the dressing:
- Zest and juice 1 lemon.
- Pick the leaves from the parsley stems, setting aside 2 tablespoons of small leaves for assembling the salad.
- Cut the chives into batons.
- Add to the jug of a personal blender or an immersion blender jug: - 1/3 cup olive oil - Half the lemon juice and all the zest - 1 tablespoon honey - Chives and parsley.
- Blend dressing until well emulsified.
- Adjust dressing to taste with lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper.
- Keep dressing in refrigerator until ready to assemble salad.
Finishing prep and assembling salad:
- Slice four preserved lemon peel quarters into long strips 4-5mm thick.
- Slice red onion into slices 3-4mm thick, circles on a mandolin or half circles with knife.
- Slice or chop tomatoes into your preferred shapes.
- Just before serving, layer the salad into a large serving bowl or four individual bowls: - Shake dressing before pouring into bottom of serving bowl or, alternatively, serve dressing on the side. - Layer tomatoes, onions and preserved lemons, sprinkling each layer with salt & pepper. - Top with halved cherry tomatoes (if using). - Sprinkle with chopped parsley. - Sprinkle some of the crumb and serve remaining crumb on the side.
