Summer Tomato Salad with Spicy Tonnato

Ingredients

• For the spicy tonnato:
• 1 ripe beefsteak tomato
• Kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 anchovy fillets
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon capers, drained
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 ounces oil-packed tuna, such as Ortiz, drained
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Turkish hot pepper paste, plus more if desired
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• For the salad:
• 2 pounds mixed ripe tomatoes
• Toasted black sesame seeds and coarse sea salt, for serving, optional
• 15 to 20 fresh basil leaves, large leaves torn and small leaves left whole

Directions

1. For the spicy tonnato, take a sharp chef’s knife or serrated knife and trim away the very bottom of the tomato. Set a box grater inside a medium bowl. Press the cut side of the tomato against the large holes and grate it with the flat of your hand, moving it back and forth until the flesh is in the bowl and the skin is left behind. Throw away the skin, then add kosher salt to the tomato pulp to taste. Pour the pulp into a liquid measuring cup, and keep the bowl nearby without washing it.
2. Add the egg, lemon juice, anchovies, mustard, and capers to the base of an immersion blender cup, or use another tall, narrow container that closely fits the blender head. Add the vegetable oil over the top and let everything sit for 15 seconds. Put the immersion blender head all the way at the bottom and blend on high. Don’t pulse, and don’t move it around at first. Once the mayonnaise begins to come together, gradually angle and raise the blender head until the oil has fully emulsified, which should take 30 and 45 seconds.
3. Stop the blender and lift it out of the cup. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides, then add the tuna, 2 tablespoons (30ml) of the reserved tomato pulp, and the pepper paste. Put the blender head back in and blend only until the mixture becomes a smooth, fully combined sauce, 15 to 30 seconds.
4. Taste the sauce and add more pepper paste if you want more heat. Check the texture, too: it should be thinner than standard mayonnaise, but still able to cling to a spoon, with a consistency between crème fraîche and stirred whole-milk yogurt. Blend in the remaining tomato pulp a little at a time, stopping before the sauce becomes too loose; save any pulp that is left. Don’t blend longer than needed, since the sauce can turn grainy.
5. Spoon the sauce into the reserved bowl. While whisking constantly, drizzle in the olive oil slowly so it emulsifies. Season with kosher salt to taste, then chill the sauce until you’re ready to serve.
6. For the salad, use a sharp chef’s knife or serrated knife to cut the tomatoes into a mix of slices, wedges, and bite-size pieces.
7. With a large spoon, spread the tonnato evenly over a large serving plate or individual plates. Lay the tomatoes over the sauce, then spoon any leftover tomato pulp on top. Scatter with sesame seeds and sea salt, if using, and finish with basil leaves. If you skip the sea salt, add kosher salt to the tomatoes instead. Serve right away.