Whenever I hear the word “salad”, I always think chopped salad. Specifically, the kind I had almost every day while growing up, which was based on two much-loved ingredients: tomato and cucumber.What makes them (together or apart) the building blocks of just about all summer salads across the eastern Mediterranean is that, at their best, they require nothing but a splash of olive oil to give a concentrated dose of freshness.They also meld exceptionally well with other ingredients – from nutty freekeh and cooling yoghurt to creamy tahini – to make some seriously complex dishes for any sunny meal.Tomato salad with lime and cardamom yoghurt (pictured above)Properly ripe, wonderfully sweet tomatoes should simply be put on a pedestal and left to be enjoyed and admired. The second-best thing you can do with them is to make a salad. This one combines sweet, sour and salty notes, and is best served with warm bread to scoop up the tomatoes and soak up their juices.Prep 15 minCook 5 minServes 4...
