| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup pitted green and black olives, halved
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 3 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 8 fresh basil leaves, shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound vine-ripened tomatoes (about 3 tomatoes)
Instructions
- Cook the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over low heat until thick, syrupy, and measuring 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the olives, parsley, anchovies, capers, garlic, basil, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl and toss to combine.
- To serve, slice the tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick rounds and place, slightly overlapping, on a serving plate. Spoon the olive and parsley mixture over the tomatoes. Drizzle the reduced balsamic over the salad and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 301 |
| Total Fat | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 17 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 12 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 3 mg |
| Sodium | 480 mg |
Reviews
My husband and I both loved this salad. The salad has really big flavors so I might not have it as an entree, like I did tonight, but I will definitely make this again and I would gladly bring it to a dinner party.
I have a family member who can’t eat anchovies so kalamatas are a must for salt. I add red onion finely sliced in half moons, white beans and feta to make this into a full meal
I love this recipe and I’ve made it many times. I usually do a large dice on the tomatoes to make the salad easier to each. I also usually use kalamata olives. Sometimes I’m lazy and don’t reduce the balsamic, but it makes for a more watery salad. The anchovy paste is what really makes this good, I usually just don’t tell people that’s what it is if I think they’ll turn up their noses!
Good, but nothing to make me want to make it again. Made according to recipe, except used anchovy paste (1 1/2 tsp) — maybe paste was old, or not enough — even my husband said it was good, but something was missing. Plated it over sliced tomatoes & sliced mozzarella cheese. Balsamic glaze added nice hint of sweetness. Nice way to up-date caprese salad (if mozzarella is included). Give the recipe a try — don’t omit anchovies and use good anchovies as I think that’s the key in ‘taste’ factor.
Fresh and yummy – my husband and I gobbled it up in one evening watching movies. I couldn’t give it 5 stars because I am not *completely* convinced on the strong flavor combos (and I really love strong flavors – adore lemon, vinegar and other sour and pungent flavors!). There is a lot going on here with capers, pungent olive varieties, anchovies, sweet basalmic… all competing with each other and not necessarily all complimenting ideally. Again, we enjoyed eating it, and it was fun to make, but had I come up with this on my own I would have felt I got it just a bit wrong somehow. Since I love many of Giada’s recipes I kept having to convince myself it wasn’t somehow “off”, just a bit. The basalmic will reduce pretty drastically – I made double the amount to be sure to have enough, figuring I could easily use the extra elsewhere.
Pureed the anchovies into the dressing so it wouldn’t be so harsh. Made it into a bigger salad with greens and avocado. Diced the tomatoes. The dressing, olives, capers, and the other veggies really complemented each other.
Ohhhhhhh yum. Made it the first time as written. Second time, I chopped the tomatoes and garlic, let the whole thing marinate about an hour, and served it over grilled fish. Perfection.
Delicious! I used heirloom tomatoes of different colors. Don’t skip the anchovies–they really add something, and people won’t know they’re in there. I didn’t mention that to my picky sister and she proclaimed the dish yummy.
made this for a party and it was the first to go. I used kalamata olives instead and accidentally chopped up the olives instead of halving them and think i will continue to do so when making this in the future. thanks giada!!
Died and went to heaven. A perfect summer appetizer. I’ve learned to like anchovies and now use gthem a lot. I agree, the tomatoes in quarters rather than sliced. Pass the french bread!!
Janet in AZ
Janet in AZ