Tomato and Cottage Cheese Salad
Updated August 25, 2024
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 ½ pounds heirloom tomatoes, sliced ½-inch thick
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon toasted white or black sesame seeds
½ teaspoon dried minced garlic
½ teaspoon dried minced onion
¼ small red onion, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 cup/8 ounces full-fat cottage cheese
⅓ cup coarsely chopped mixed tender herbs (such as chives, parsley and dill)
Grilled or toasted French bread or bagels, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Arrange tomato slices on a platter and season with ½ teaspoon salt.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, combine the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic and dried onion in a small skillet. Cook over medium, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mixture is fragrant and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, stir in ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and set aside.
- Step 3
Scatter the red onion on top of the tomato slices and drizzle with the olive oil and Worcestershire sauce, if using.
- Step 4
Using a spoon, dollop the cottage cheese on top.
- Step 5
Garnish with the herbs and the toasted spice blend; serve with bread.
Private Notes
Comments
Certified cottage cheese fiend here. I’m so thrilled to see this recipe - could it be that I am not alone in my appreciation for this polarizing ingredient? This dish is excellent as written, but should you be pressed for time, I think you could be forgiven for using store bought “everything bagel” seasoning in place of the spice mix. You could even toast it for a few seconds in the microwave. No judgment here.
My mom grew tomatoes. She would cut one beautiful tomato in eighths, part way through so the tomato opened up like a flower, then fill the center with a dollop of cottage cheese. Sprinkled with salt and pepper, it was a frequent summer salad. So fun to find an elevated version in NYT. Yummy!
Toast a couple of slices of good Jewish Rye bread. Slice tomatoes thick or thin, add sea salt and grinds of fresh pepper. Add a good olive oil to the tomatoes. Place the slices atop the toasted rye, spoon dollops of cottage cheese atop. Add basil, more salt and Espelette pepper. Eat over the sink. A mighty fine breakfast!!
Love (good homegrown) tomatoes with cottage cheese, salt, Pepper and a drizzle of EVOO. The suggestion to use Everything Bagel seasoning is great! Adding it to my shopping list now!
No edible heirlooms yet so I’m getting my cottage cheese fix from fresh NJ blueberries and cottage cheese. A great breakfast.
Perfect summer salad for lunch. Everything's in the fridge and the only other item I'll add is a bit of rinsed and crushed capers.

