Sauteed Tomato Salad

If this isn't brain food, I don't know what would be.  I ate this salad for lunch almost every day in law school.  The cashiers at my grocery store thought I was nuts, buying bags and bags of romaine lettuce.  But this colorful, healthy, delicious little salad was my version of comfort food.

In the intervening years, I've become a much more adventurous cook.  This salad has become a "once in a while" dish, but I could still make it blindfolded.  With my hands tied behind my back.  Ok, well, blindfolded, at least.  And when I've had a night of too many christmas indulgences, it's the first thing I crave in the morning.

I've tried to make this salad with so many different kinds of tomatoes, but plum tomatos are by far the best.  I've also added mushrooms to the tomatoes for the topping, or turkey to the greens for a more substantial meal.

So if you're thinking about all the Christmas cookies and eggnog you've been eating (and all the gym visits you've been skipping) this holiday season, I recommend trying out this salad. But you might want to wait till after New Years, because, hey, it is the holidays!

Sauteed Tomato Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 10-ounce bag romaine lettuce mix (look for one that includes carrots)

3 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2" round slices

1/2 cube vegetable bouillon

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tsp olive oil

Optional: 1/3 cup ranch dressing

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium saute pan, heat tomato slices, garlic, and olive oil. Crumble vegetable bouillon and add to tomatoes. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender and garlic is coated with bouillon. Add a few tablespoons of water if tomatoes start to stick to the pan.

2. Toss salad mix with ranch dressing, if desired. Top with sauteed tomatoes, and toss again. Serve.

Serves 2 as a light meal or 4 as an appetizer.