Tomolive Salad

A while back a purchased a tapas cookbook and I decided to browse through it recently to see if there were any healthy recipes that I could swipe. There are several different sections in this cookbook and they all of the recipes look delicious, there were a select few in the "made with vegetables" section that met my approval. Here is one that I made the other day and loved. It is a tomato & olive salad which I have renamed for my own intensive purposes! Here is the recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients:
(serves 6)

2 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp paprika
4 tomatoes, peeled and diced
12 pimiento-stuffed olives (I used more than 12 and I sliced them)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
2 shallots, finely chopped (I used onions instead)
1 tbsp pickled capers in brine, drained (I didn't have these so I left them out but I think they would have been a nice addition)
2-3 chicory heads, separated into leaves (I used romaine instead)
sea salt

*I like to give you the original recipe and then tell you how I did it to stress to you how easy it is to modify or substitute ingredients to save you time and money or to simply get creative and use up some of the food that you already have in your refrigerator*

First, make the dressing. Whisk the vinegar, olive oil, garlic and paprika together in a bowl. Season to taste with sea salt. Let this sit for a while to infuse the flavors.
Place the tomatoes, olives, cucumber, shallots (or onion), and capers in a separate bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss lightly. Arrange chicory (or romaine) leaves on a plate and spoon in an equal amount of the salad and serve.

Try it and tell me what you think!