Chilean Salad: Tomatoes and onions

Versión en español

Chilean salad is straightforward; it’s mostly onions and tomatoes but has its little secrets to make it tasty. Chilean salad is a summer salad, best made when tomatoes are fresh and have matured in the bushes. Many of the classic Chilean meals improve dramatically with the addition of the Chilean salad: fried fish with mashed potatoes, fresh tamales or humitas, BBQ beef with potato salad, spicy pork ribs only taste completed with this salad.

I made this salad with tomatoes from my garden, this year’s harvest was great, and I enjoyed it like never before.

You can do the salad with or without green chile and minced garlic, I do not recommend you skip salting the tomatoes before putting them together with the rest of the ingredients. The salt brings out the flavor of the tomatoes. Do not use olive oil; neutral vegetable oil is traditional.

Visit our collection of Chilean recipes here.

Chilean Salad: Tomatoes and onions

6 people
Ingredients:

• 1 Spanish onion (yellow)
• 5 medium-sized tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic (optional)
• 1 yellow Thai chile or sweet banana pepper (optional)
• salt, pepper, oil, wine vinegar

Preparation:

1. Boil water.
2. Chop onion in half moons as thin as possible. Place in a bowl, cover with boiling water, let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Dry with paper towels.
3. Chop the garlic and seed the peppers, cut finely.
4. Chop the tomatoes into wedges, place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt, stir.
5. Add onion, garlic, and finely chopped pepper if desired.
6. Season with salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.
7. Stir and taste. Adjust the seasoning.