Tomato Aguachile
Welcome to Tomato Week, Bon Appétit’s high-summer celebration of our all-time favorite fruit. Fill your totes with heirlooms and pack your pockets with Sun Golds: Each day, we’re sharing a brand new, extra-delicious way to make the most of this fleeting season.
Ingredients · Servings 4
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp. adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo
- 1½ tsp. (or more) sugar
- ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
- 1 Persian cucumber, quartered lengthwise, sliced on a diagonal 1" thick
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ avocado, halved crosswise, sliced
- 8 oz. mixed tomatoes, halved, cut into ½"-thick wedges if large
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium jalapeño, thinly sliced into rounds
- Tostadas or tortilla chips (for serving)
Method · 25 min
- Stir 1 garlic clove, finely chopped, ½ cup fresh lime juice, 2 tsp. adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo, 1½ tsp. sugar, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a small bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved. (Dressing should taste like spicy limeade.)
- Arrange 1 Persian cucumber, quartered lengthwise, sliced on a diagonal 1" thick, ½ small red onion, thinly sliced, ½ avocado, halved crosswise, sliced, and 8 oz. mixed tomatoes, halved, cut into ½"-thick wedges if large, in a medium shallow bowl and season lightly with salt. Pour dressing over and chill 15 minutes to marinate (don’t go any longer as vegetables will release too much liquid).
- Taste tomato aguachile and add more sugar and/or season with more salt if needed. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil over and scatter ½ medium jalapeño, thinly sliced into rounds, on top. Serve with tostadas or tortilla chips on the side for scooping.
Peak-season tomatoes don’t need a lot of help but some acid and a swift kick of heat certainly don’t hurt. Taking a page from aguachile or ceviche, raw tomatoes are tossed with lime juice and lots of crunchy vegetables. The result is a refreshing salad swimming in a spicy citrus dressing, where each bite tastes new and novel. If you’d like to harken back to the original, slip a quarter pound of lightly poached, shelled shrimp in with the tomatoes.