This is something I grew up with, a dish my grandmother and mom always served family-style. For me, this combination—a fluffy, snowy mountain of shaved Gruyère with sliced sweet-tart tomato—is home. In Alsace, we sometimes mixed wine vinegar with honey and spices for the dressing, but sherry vinegar has a similar nuanced sweetness that works very well here.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　5 1/2 ounces Gruyère cheese

　　1 large ripe tomato

　　1 white new (spring) onion or 2 medium shallots, finely chopped

　　1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

　　Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil

　　2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

　　

Step 1

Grate the Gruyère on the large holes of a box grater directly over a large serving plate. Cut the tomato in half from top to bottom, remove the core, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange the tomato half-moons in a circle around the mound of cheese.

　　

Step 2

Sprinkle the onion and parsley all over the cheese, then season everything with a pinch of salt and generous grindings of black pepper. Drizzle the oil, then the vinegar, all over the salad and serve immediately.

　　Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family.Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.