Recipe Excerpt: Curried Tomatoes, Peaches and Cucumbers

Curried Tomatoes, Peaches and Cucumbers

From“The Cook’s Garden” by Kevin West. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Serves 6 to 8

Some summer dishes are not so much cooked as cut up. This salad, for one. It’s made from heirloom tomatoes, which ripen with Del’s peaches, during the same peak season when green Genovese basil and dream-dark opal basil signal to each other from across the garden and trellised cucumbers drape like baroque festoons. Combine everything on a serving platter, and the result is a flashy first course for nearly any summer meal. I’d put it on the table alongside thin-crust onion pizza and juicy grilled skewers. Or I’d not cook at all and instead crowd the buffet with sliced prosciutto, a country terrine, olives, bread, whole-stem parsley, salad, a few naked lettuce greens, shaved summer squash and bottles of rosé. — Kevin West

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds medium cucumbers, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 pound yellow peaches, peeled and cut into chunky wedges
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, mixed green and purple
1 pound Brandywine or other heirloom tomatoes, in large chunks

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the curry powder, salt and lemon juice. Stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, peaches and basil. Pour in the dressing and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving platter.
3. Place the tomatoes in the same bowl and swirl them around until they are coated with the residual juices. Lightly season with more salt to taste. Tuck the tomatoes around the edge of the serving platter.