You’ve definitely had cherry tomatoes and parsley, but have you enjoyed sweet onion before? As the name suggests, sweet onions have a sweeter flavor profile than regular onions. They are often larger than yellow onions and have a higher sugar content, making them great for sautéing and caramelizing. That said, you can enjoy sweet onions in their raw form, with Walla Walla, Texas Sweets, Maui, and Vidalia being the best sweet onion varieties.

One of the most popular preparations of sweet onion is to thinly slice them on a mandoline and comine them with tomatoes, herbs, and a light vinaigrette. Basil or parsley tend to be the herbs of choice because they complement the acidic tomato and sweet bite of the onion. If you use cherry tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes, the sweeter flavor profile helps tame the intense allium flavor of the onion.

Because we want to let the ingredients shine, the vinaigrette for this salad is very simple. It’s light, refreshing, and offers just the right amount of acid to complement the tomato and the parsley. If you can, use high-quality, cold-pressed olive oil because the rich flavor will shine through in the dressing. Whisk all of the other dressing ingredients together first and then drizzle in the olive oil as you whisk, allowing it to plume, making for the best tasting vinaigrette.