Salată de Roșii cu Telemea și Zeamă
Salată de Roșii cu Telemea și Zeamă·(sah-LAH-tuh deh RO-shee koo teh-leh-MYAH she ZYAH-muh)
Cămara: Afternoon Snacks & Pantry Hacks
If you grew up anywhere near a Romanian household, this is the undisputed taste of summer. It is less of a formal salad and more of an excuse to create zeamă—the glorious, salty, oily, tomato-infused juice that pools at the bottom of the bowl. Long before olive oil became a global staple, grandmothers in the Carpathian valleys dressed their garden tomatoes with cold-pressed sunflower oil, which tastes deeply of toasted seeds, earth, and sunshine. The secret here isn't technique, it’s patience. You salt the tomatoes, step away, and let osmosis do the heavy lifting. By the time you return with a torn loaf of fresh, fluffy bread, the good juice is ready.
Before you start
Slice the tomatoes, never cube them.
Slicing exposes the jelly-like seed cavities where the flavorful liquid lives, maximizing your yield of zeamă.
Ingredients
- heirloom or high-quality beefsteak tomatoes1 1/2 lb
- red onion1/2 med
- sheep's milk feta in brine3 oz
- unrefined cold-pressed sunflower oil3 tbsp
- white wine vinegar1 tsp
- flaky sea salt1/2 tsp
- black pepper1/4 tsp
- fresh flat-leaf parsley or dill1/4 cup
- fresh soft French or Italian bread1 large
Method
- 01
Macerate the tomatoes and onions.
Transfer the sliced tomatoes to a large, shallow serving bowl, scatter the thinly sliced red onion over the top, sprinkle generously with the sea salt, and toss everything very gently with your hands.
- 02
Walk away and let osmosis do the work.
Let the bowl sit on the counter for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Do not skip this; the salt draws the water out of the tomatoes, creating the foundation for your zeamă.
- 03
Dress the salad and crumble the cheese.
Drizzle the vinegar and unrefined sunflower oil over the rested tomatoes, then take your block of feta and crumble it into large, uneven chunks directly over the bowl.
- 04
Toss to create the emulsion.
Add the black pepper and fresh herbs, then gently fold the salad together one last time to coax the oil, vinegar, tomato water, and salty whey into a golden-red broth.
- 05
Serve immediately with plenty of bread.
Place the bowl in the center of the table and dig in. The salad is great, but the true prize is dragging a piece of soft bread through the juice at the bottom.
Notes
The oil is non-negotiable for authentic flavor.
You can find unrefined, cold-pressed sunflower oil at Eastern European markets or online. It smells intensely of roasted seeds. Olive oil works in a pinch, but it changes the dish from a Carpathian classic to a generic Mediterranean one.
Use brine-packed sheep's milk feta.
Romanian telemea is hard to find stateside, but a good block of sheep's milk feta packed in brine is nearly identical in saltiness and texture. Avoid pre-crumbled cheese, which contains anti-caking agents and will not melt into the juice correctly.
From Cook Romanian in America.