Trampo: Summer Tomato Celebration

The most vital ingredient of this classic Mallorcan salad is the time you leave it to sit. We have a love in Cyprus for zoumi, which are the juices at the bottom of a salad bowl. Growing up, it took me years to realize that those were the best part of the salad that was on the table at every meal, even on Christmas Day (the acid in a salad helps to cut through richer dishes).

Once we both understood the secret of zoumi, my sister and I would fight over who got them. Absolutely cherish those juices at the bottom of the salad bowl. Go to war for them. Whatever you do, don’t throw them away!

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 garlic clove (optional)

  Medesque Georgina Hayden

• 1 lemon

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1¼ lbs ripe tomatoes

• 1 onion

• 1 green bell pepper

• 2 avocados

• 1⅓ cups pitted green olives

• Very small bunch of chives

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Peel the garlic, if you’re using it, and finely grate into a large mixing bowl. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon, season well and whisk in the extra virgin olive oil. Finely chop the tomatoes, discarding the stems. Peel and finely chop the onion. Halve the bell pepper, discard the stalk and seeds and finely chop also. Halve the avocados, remove the pits and cut to the same size. Add all the prepared veggies to the dressing bowl. Roughly chop the olives, add them too and stir everything together, seasoning well and really making sure every piece of the chopped mixture is dressed. Finely chop the chives and stir through also.

You can serve this straight away, but the trampo is even better when left for a while. Either set it aside for 30 minutes, or cover and place in the fridge; just make sure to bring to room temperature before serving. And whatever you do, make sure to serve all the juices at the bottom… that’s the best bit.

Excerpted from Medesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots. Used with the permission of the publisher, Bloomsbury. Text copyright © 2026 by Georgina Hayden, Photography copyright © 2026 by Laura Edwards

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