Celebrate cherry tomatoes in this recipe for Steak Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette. Seasonal cherry tomatoes are roasted with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic before being pureed into a delicious salad dressing. This vinaigrette is bold, sweet, and savoury—you will be making this recipe just to enjoy it on its own!
A New Way to Enjoy Cherry Tomatoes
During the summer months, I can’t get enough cherry tomatoes. I grow a variety of cherry tomato plants in my garden and by this time of year, I am looking for ways to use them us as they begin to ripen. In this recipe for Steak Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette, you get the best of both worlds: sweet roasted cherry tomatoes in the dressing, and fresh cherry tomatoes on top.
This Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette is incredibly easy to make. I simply roast the cherry tomatoes with a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic until they have blistered and have begun to release all of their juices. This concentrates the flavour and intensifies it, making the vinaigrette incredibly flavourful. To enhance the vinaigrette, I also add chili flakes and fresh basil leaves and puree all the ingredients together into a food processor until smooth. This Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette is so delicious that I could just eat this right off the spoon!
Complimentary Salad Ingredients
Since this Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette is so bold in flavour, it pairs perfectly with grilled or pan-seared steak. The sweet, savoury, and slightly acidic dressing cuts through the richness of the steak perfectly and is truly the perfect pairing.
I also like to add fresh cherry tomatoes and basil leaves to the salad since these ingredients are in the vinaigrette itself and adds a whole other layer of flavour. In terms of the lettuce, you can opt for green leaf lettuce, or romaine, as these lettuce varieties are mild in flavour.
I hope that you enjoy this recipe this summer. Enjoy the best of the season, every day!
Get the Recipe: Steak Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette
Steak Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette:
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes ~2 cups
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic wrapper still on
- 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
- 6 large basil leaves
For the Salad:
- 4 cups green leaf lettuce roughly chopped
- 6 oz striploin steak grilled and sliced 1 cm thick
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes ~1 cup, halved
- 8 to 10 small basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place the cherry tomatoes in a baking dish. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, along with the salt, black pepper, balsamic vinegar, and garlic clove and toss to fully coat. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins have blistered, and the tomatoes have begun to burst. One the tomatoes are cooked, set them aside to cool slightly.
- To make the vinaigrette, add the roasted cherry tomatoes to a food processor. Peel the garlic clove and add it to the food processor. Discard the paper wrapper. Add the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil, chili flakes, and basil leaves, and puree until smooth. Transfer to a jar and set aside.
- To assemble the salad, add the lettuce to a large serving place ant top with the sliced steak, the halved cherry tomatoes, basil leaves. Drizzle the vinaigrette on top and serve immediately. Enjoy!