Lomi Lomi Tomato

As you may or may not know, I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Growing up in paradise I was exposed to beautiful rainbows, amazing ocean views, daily treks to the beach and a wide variety of food.  Hawaii is literally a melting pot of food, cultures and people.  While ads and TV/movies depict Hawaii a certain way (some better than others) for some reason every dish with pineapple is associated with Hawaii!  I have breaking news- no one in Hawaii eats pineapple on pizza, on their hamburgers or on most savory dishes.  Yes I would say 95% of the people in Hawaii do not eat pineapple on their pizza or have never had it on a burger. 

I thought I would share with you some real local/Hawaiian foods!  I grew up eating Lomi Lomi Salmon whenever I had Hawaiian food.  My friend Jon was the first person to serve me Lomi Lomi tomato.  “Lomi Lomi” means to massage in Hawaiian, which is the way that this dish was traditionally prepared.  All of the ingredients were mixed or massaged by hand to combine.  This recipe is super easy and comes together so quickly.  If you can get a Maui onion or sweet onion, definitely use it!  Maui onions are great and so much milder with a great flavor.      

Lomi Lomi Tomato
16 oz. (1 lb.) grape tomatoes, or 4 large tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 Maui onion (sweet onion), chopped
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Hawaiian Salt (rock salt)
Tabasco

1.  Cut up tomatoes into bite size pieces.  Add in green onions, Maui onion, apple cider vinegar, Hawaiian Salt and Tabasco and mix well.

2.  Chill thoroughly and serve.

Serve with Kalua Pig or your favorite Hawaiian dish!  One of my favorites is to eat this with Poi!  Poi is a Hawaiian side dish which is steamed taro that is ground into a paste like texture.  It sounds weird, looks gross, but you either love or hate poi,  Try it with lomi lomi tomato and you will fall in love!