Warm tomato salad

Serves: 4
Course: Starter
Cooking Time: 0 hr 20 mins
Ingredients
  • Serves 44 slices sourdough bread
  • 200ml olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1 red onion
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 1 kg tomatoes, any type you like
  • 1 bunch basil
  • 1 big bunch chives
  • Handful of finely grated Parmesan

Break the bread into big bite-sized chunks and bake in a moderate oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Leave to cool. You could do this the night before. If you don’t have time, you could simply toast the bread well and break it up into chunks. You can do this next bit well in advance if you fancy: Very gently heat up the olive oil and garlic. No colour, just warm through. Then add the red onions and stir. Turn off the heat and leave to soften in the warm oil. Season this well and set it aside until you are really ready to eat, as it won’t take long to finish.

Chop the larger tomatoes into quarters, if you are using a combination of types: basically have them all a similar size but use whatever combination you like. I used some whole cherry tomatoes, some quartered plum tomatoes and a few larger ones that were roughly chopped. When you are ready to do a final blast of cooking, heat up the olive oil with the garlic and onions and get it very warm. Add the vinegar and capers and try to get the mixture hot and bubbling. Then add the tomatoes and stir for a minute. Turn off the heat and add the bread, the herbs and the Parmesan. Add some more black pepper, stir and serve straight away.

Domini Kemp

Domini Kemp

Domini Kemp, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a chef and food writer