Thunder and Lightning Salad

Sara Bradley, who won the recent episode of  “Chopped” (a TV show competition on the food network) representing chefs from the south, served a Thunder and Lightning salad. This easy-to-make salad doesn’t have a Wikipedia entry, so I can’t show you a free-to-use photo. The judges liked it, and as they talked about it, I realized that it’s been years since I had it.

You can find recipes all over the Internet for it, most with variations from the original that, while fine for experimentation, aren’t the standard which includes several tomatoes, several cucumbers, one Bermuda onion, white vinegar (1/2 cup), and sugar (1/2 cup or a little less to taste).  I avoid recipes that include bell peppers since the pepper flavor permeates the whole shebang.  White wine, hot sauce, herbs, and Canola oil: forget it.

Traditionally, the vegetables are cut into large pieces. That is, the tomatoes are cut into wedges, and the cucumbers are peeled and cut into fat slices. The onions are sliced the way you would if you were putting them on a hamburger and cut in half. These are left large so people who don’t like raw onion can pick them out.

Mix up the vegetables and onion in a large bowl. Stir the vinegar and sugar together and then drizzle this over the salad and refrigerate overnight.

This salad goes well with minute steak, pork chops, and even barbecue–or whatever catches your fancy. I have no idea how Sara Bradley made this salad on “Chopped,” so I’ve tried to give you the most basic form. Some people swap Vidalia or other sweet onions for the Bermudas.

And, so sorry for the lack of a photo of the salad.

–Malcolm