Every once in awhile, I pull out of the bookshelves one of my older cookbooks, and I find an appropriate dish for the occasion. Today, I was looking for a way to use half of a large heirloom tomato for my lunch, and I found a marvelous little recipe in The Antipasto Table, by Michele Scicolone, published in 1991. Believe or not, salads have not changed much in 30 years.

The recipe is simple: thinly-sliced tomato, arugula (torn into bite-sized pieces), sliced red onion, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and some cheese. It’s written for ricotta salata, but also suggests feta cheese as an alternative. I used some Israeli feta (from Trader Joe’s), along with several cubes of Halloumi, which were dusted in rye flour and sautéed in olive oil. I also added a few splashes of Portuguese red wine vinegar for acid. The results were excellent, especially with the Cotes-du-Coast Rhône-style white wine for accompaniment.

I think I will return to the Antipasto Table often this summer.