The end of summer tomato crops are still going strong, but lately I’ve been feeling a bit too lazy to come up with clever ideas of what to do with them. There are still many tasty varieties that I can’t pass up at the farmer’s market or the gardens of friends, but that quickly leaves me with more tomato than I can handle. For example, when one finds oneself with a bag of 40 or so teeny ones that are in danger of decline, tomato salad become the dish of the day. I know - yet another tomato salad recipe, right? Don’t yawn, though…this one is special. Well, it’s the one I like best, anyway.

I first tasted this as made by my ex-roommate, and I believe she got it from a Madhur Jaffrey book, but the recipe is so easy and I’ve made it so many times that it really requires very little attention to amounts. It is sort of like the tomato-basil salads that we all love- there’s really no need to do any precise measuring, as long as you use good quality ingredients and taste often. The salad is also good to make in the winter when you crave tomato but the market shelves are unappealing (the spices will cheer up those poor little winter specimens), or when you are utterly sick of basil after gluttonously eating pesto for a week straight (ahem).

To make the salad, just take a pint or two of grape or cherry tomatoes and halve or quarter them. Then toss them with salt, lemon juice, ground roasted cumin seed, cilantro, and a couple tablespoons of harissa, the spicy Tunisian red pepper paste. Harissa is easy to make and can often be found jarred, but if you don’t have any on hand and need instant tomato gratification, you can toss the halved tomatoes with a clove of garlic, a bit of ground coriander, and some crushed red pepper to taste, along with the salt, lemon, roasted cumin, and cilantro. You can also add finely chopped onions if you like.

Either way you do it, it’s absolutely essential to roast the cumin seeds. Roasting provides a fantastic, unmistakable flavour which combines just astonishingly well with the tart lemon and sweet tomatoes. If you’ve never roasted spices before, it’s quite easy - just place a couple tablespoons of the seeds into a small pan and put on a medium-low flame for a few minutes. As soon as they become fragrant, they’re done. Then grind them in a spice grinder or a mortar, and be prepared for an incredibly delicious smell to permeate your kitchen. Ahhh, just the scent of roasted cumin drives me insane with delight.

Sorry for the blur, but it ends up looking a bit like this: