This Portuguese Salad recipe is a terrific mix of roasted bell peppers and tomatoes. It’s combined with fresh cucumber and cilantro, and tossed in a red wine vinaigrette.
This Portuguese Salad is terrific as an accompaniment to grilled fish, chicken or pork. When serving it with fish, there is no need to prepare a sauce for the fish- just serve the salad on the same plate as the fish and spoon a little of the dressing right over the fish.
It is essential to cut the cucumbers thick and then salt them and drain them on a rack or in a colander. It’s an easy extra step that makes the cucumbers very crisp.
Without the cucumbers, the salad will keep well for up to 3 days. Add the cucumbers the day you will be serving the salad.
The dressing for this salad calls for chili garlic paste. If you can’t locate chili garlic paste (usually in the Asian food section of your market), you can substitute 1 teaspoon chopped garlic + 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
If you’re looking for more salad recipes, you might enjoy my Mediterranean Chickpea Salad or this Corn Tomato Avocado Salad. Simple Greek Salad, Asian Cucumber Salad, and this Five Minute Salad are excellent salad recipes as well.
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Portuguese Salad
Ingredients
- 3 medium green bell peppers
- 6 medium plum tomatoes
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 medium cucumbers (peeled and sliced ½-inch thick)
- kosher or sea salt
- ⅔ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic paste
Instructions
ROAST THE BELL PEPPERS AND TOMATOES:
- Use one or more gas burners, a broiler, or a grill. Place the peppers directly on the burner grates, on a baking sheet under the broiler, or on the grill and roast, turning occasionally with tongs, until the skin is blistered and blackened all over. Place the roasted peppers in a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside. Brush the tomatoes on all sides with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place them as close to the heat or flame as possible and roast, turning them as the skin blisters all over, about 3 minutes- it's okay if the skin is charred or blackened, but roast them as quickly as possible so the flesh doesn't become overcooked. Set the tomatoes on a pan and let them cool.
- After the bell peppers have cooled, peel off the skins, remove the core and seeds, and cut them into pieces that are about 1-inch-square (or cut into triangles). Peel the tomatoes and cut them into pieces about the same size as the peppers.
- Meanwhile, place the cucumber slices on a rack set over a baking sheet or in a colander and sprinkle them lightly with salt on both sides. Allow them to stand for 20 minutes to release their juices, then pat them dry with paper towels.
ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:
- In a large bowl, combine the roasted peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Stir in the remaining olive oil, red wine vinegar, and chili paste and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. If you're not serving the salad right away, cover and refrigerate, but pull out the salad and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If you are preparing this salad as gluten free, just be sure to use a brand of chili garlic paste that is know to be GF.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
