If you’ve perused the stalls of your local farmer’s market recently, you probably noticed the influx of tomatoes. Summer is the best time of year to get your hands on everything from colorful heirloom varieties to plump vine-ripened tomatoes. Although heirloom tomatoes are more expensive, they are worth it for recipes like this. When you want the tomatoes to shine, you buy heirloom tomatoes, but they aren’t a requirement for this recipe.

Tomatoes, especially heirlooms, are so juicy and delicious during summer that you can slice them and enjoy them as is. Maybe season with a little sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, or take it a step further and make one of the best summer tomato salads ever. The ingredients are simple, but the flavors are dynamite. There is a time and place for long ingredient lists, but there is something to be said for letting the ingredients shine. The combination of the fresh herbs, red onion, and sweet tomatoes with the acidic vinaigrette is exactly what you need in life. To tame the intensity of the red onion, soak them in cold water for about 10 minutes after you thinly slice them. This is a game changer, folks, especially if you want to enjoy raw onion.

This recipe calls for Italian parsley and curly parsley. Whereas Italian parsley has a smoother texture and stronger flavor, curly parsley’s flavor is more muted, but the color is brighter. Not only do both parsleys offer different flavors, but they also offer different textures for this salad. Just make sure that when you toss the ingredients with the dressing that you use a gentle hand. The last thing you want to do is overwork the ingredients!