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I’m sure many, if not all, of you know who Penny de los Santos is. She is an award winning photographer, senior contributing photographer at Saveur Magazine and contributor to National Geographic. Penny is a truly talented photographer with a very kind aura. She recently teamed up with Creative Live to stream a live 3 day workshop on food photography. Did you guys catch that live? Sadly I didn’t hear about it until about 1 week later. Thankfully Creative Live has the whole 3 day course available for download on their website incase you missed it, like me. No I’m not being paid to say this.
I’m telling you guys about it because I was so moved by Penny’s lessons. After watching the videos I was left in awe of her talent, inspirational and motivational words. She comes off as a genuinely good person happy to help share her knowledge. After watching the videos I went back to her website and read many of her posts as well as admired her photography. I just had to send her a message saying know how much what she said meant to me. I know I’m sounding like a stalker, but I promise I’m not. You know what? She wrote back a sweet little note. With all of her success and busy schedule, she was still kind enough to respond to her fan mail. That says alot in my book.
One of the many posts that stood out the most to me was a recipe for “Tomato, Peach and Basil Salad” Looking or should I say drooling over her photos and recipe I knew I had to make that salad immediately. So I did and here it is for you today. I do have to tell you that I changed it a little bit from her recipe.
– She used peaches and I used nectarines.
– Penny used garden tomatoes and I changed it to small grape tomatoes.
– Another step I added was to grilled the nectarines.
– Since raw garlic does not agree with me I decided to cook it a little in the oil from the nectarines. But you can use the raw garlic if you like.
– I also sprinkled a little cayenne over the salad. This added another depth of flavors and it tasted great!
Adapted from Penny de los Santos’s “Tomato, Peach and Basil Salad”
Makes 1 large serving or 2 small side servings:
10 grape tomatoes, cut in half
large bunch fresh basil, finely chopped
Balsamic Dressing:
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp dark brown sugar
pinch of salt
large pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp water
large pinch ground cayenne pepper, optional
11/2 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) *
2 whole garlic cloves*
* Hold off on adding these to the balsamic until step #2*
2. In a screw top jar pour the oil used to cook the nectarines. Mince the garlic and add to the jar along with all of the balsamic ingredients. Shake well until all ingredients are well combined. Taste and adjust if necessary.
3. In a large salad bowl gently toss the tomatoes, basil and nectarines. Pour the balsamic over the fruits again gently tossing. OR you can serve the balsamic on the side and serve as you like.
thank you for sharing this post, lovely looking salad and glad to know about Penny's blog !
Hi Priya, My pleasure :)
I never thought to combine tomatoes and peaches. This looks fantastic. What gorgeous photos. Bookmarking it to try soon.
@Rivki, Me neither but they go so great together. Let me know how you like it.
Thanks for the recommendation for Penny, she is amazing! I did not see the video but since you recommend it I have to watch it today! Thanks so much for preparing that incredibly beautiful and I'm sure delicious salad!
@Dennis, No problem! I think you'll really enjoy the videos. It was super delicious :)
This salad looks so so delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Looks gorgeous! Thanks for the link to the workshop, and in answer to your final question – YOU do! :-)
@icancookthat, Thanks and my pleasure:)
@Ruby, Wow you totally made my day- no make that week :) I think you'll enjoy the workshop videos. Thank you so much!
Thanks for introducing me to Penny Nancy. I just loved the recipe and the Photographs. The salad looks very Rustic and yummy :)
@Paaka, No problem :) Yes, rustic is a great way of describing it.
Thanks for passing on the lovely recipe and info on the photography workshop. I will go check it out! I love your photos of this simple flavorful salad and I've been meaning to pick up some nectarines;-)
Oh I just made a super similar salad this weekend!! Great minds think a like. ;) I love your take on this, I'll need to try this next.
Summer in a bowl. Love photographed salad.
I'm really not into photography, I certainly am not a food blogger that worries too much about that end. I am all about the food. Pushing the boundaries of my cuisine and playing with my food. That's why I cook.
Quidate
This looks phenomenal! The nectarines at the fruit stand near my apartment are so lovely right now and you can smell them from several feet away. I'll have to go pick some up now that I know exactly what to do with them!
Nancy, this dish looks full of flavor..beautiful photography and great post! What a honor that she wrote you back….how exiting!
Have a wonderful Monday!!!
Haha… “No, I am not being paid to say this…” I love it Nancy! Thanks for sharing the info… and this beautiful salad!
Nancy, thanks for the photography info. Beautiful salad, and beautifully shot!
Beautiful salad! I love the photographs… Your pictures are incredible! :) I must go visit Penny's site… I've got a lot to learn :) Thanks for sharing :)
I actually did catch Penny that weekend, but I couldn't sit and watch all of it but I was so happy to get what I could. What an inspiring workshop that was. I'm always inspired by books and magazines and especially blogs. Your salad looks delicious, and I love your pictures as usual :)
This sounds like something i would make!!
Delicious and amazing photos!
Your fruity, spicy tomato salad is awesome, Nancy! It's the kind of thing I would have on a hot day, so refreshing and delicious. I happen to LOVE Penny de Los Santos! She's my inspiration for wanting to be a better photographer, better cook… heck, a better person. More than the food, she actually delves into the culture and the people behind the food. You 'feel' that about her photographs and videos and that's what make them so special.
What a beautiful salad!
This is just crazy beautiful and yet simple and achievable. Love the summer fresh ingredients and the combination of nectarine and tomato. The balsamic vinaigrette sounds delicious.
Wow that salad is awsome! Never thought of putting tomato and nectarine together, but now that I see it it sounds great!
What a beautiful photo! I absolutely love the photo of your salad, it's so beautiful.
Stunning!
I'm at work at the minute. Sounds like a really interesting course. I can't take good photos for love nor money.
Lovely looking summer salad.
I'll check that link out later !
I love penny and I also missed her class, (upset) Thanks for featuring this colorful salad, I adore nectarines! Loved your queso on HC!!
Love it! I just made a nectarine-tomato chutney, so I know firsthand that the combo is totally awesome. I'll have to try it in salad now – if only I had leftover fruit…
I wanted to watch Penny's workshop, but I just couldn't commit to the time. I will see about watching it one afternoon while the kids are away. This is a beautiful salad. Perfect for my garden tomatoes.
Hi Nancy,
I love Penny and probably like most of us, missed her classes. Thanks for the link, going to check it out.
Now, back to the salad, I honestly believe yours looks much better than hers, especially the 4th photo.
I had read about Penny's lessons and I was thinking about taking her workshop. Your pics look stunning!!
Nancy,
You know what? when I see your pictures, I can just make them out unmistakably, just like I did on tasteologie now! That bowl of nectarine tomato salad is so colorful with perfect lighting.
About Penny's workshop on creativelive, I got lucky to know about it on twitter and stayed glued for the whole 3 days. She is a total inspiration, no doubts about it. Her workshop was awesome is the least I can say. Good you could download the video. I am so glad to read about it on your post here..
This is just gorgeous all around! Thank you for the introduction to Penny's site (I took a peak) and will be back. I really love your version though…fresh and beautiful with just a hint of heat ;)
Tomato, basil and nectarines, very Mediterranean and very good.
Thanks!
What a beautiful website, I love the recipes and the presentation, way to go.
Thank you Sahar!