One of the reasons I love the Summer season is the availability of locally grown tomatoes. Tomatoes are incredibly versatile and, like Olive oil, are a staple of eating well. My favorite Summer time use for tomatoes is the tomato salad, here's my simple recipe
- 3-4 tomatoes
- 1/4 cup of high quality olive oil
- salt (Kosher), pepper (freshly ground), and dried oregano (if you can avoid the generic oregano from big box markets then do so).
- 1/2 red onion (medium sized)
- Fresh basil (minimum 10 medium sized leafs)
- (OPTIONAL) 1 medium sized cucumber (with seeds and skin removed)
Dice the tomatoes into small wedge and place in a medium sized bowl. Next, slice the onions into thin pieces (large chunks aren't very good, as a fresh red onion will take a while to "mellow down") and place in bowl. Add lots of salt (tomatoes and salt are best friends) and a dash of pepper, as well as the dried oregano (remember to crush the oregano in your hands to release the flavor).
![IMG_6246[1]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4828108814_02cefc3ef4.jpg)
Finally, add your olive and basil (don't cut basil with a knife rather shred it with your hands to release the oils in the leaves) and mix well. I usually like to let the salad sit for a few minutes so that all the nice juices in the bowl can blend together and do their magic. Also, although I didn't cite the ingredient above you will need a good loaf of bread to go with the tomato salad. In fact, I'd say good bread is a requirement as you'll probably want to mop up the olive oil in the bowl!
Italian
