August brings abundance to the garden. All of a sudden when you have had your fill of BLT Sandwiches and Caprese Salad, mother nature drops another load of tomatoes to your garden. What to do? Here are 4 easy steps to creating something yummy to go alongside any meat from the grill.
STEP 1:
Soak thinly sliced onions or shallots in a mixture of half water and half wine vinegar.
STEP 2:
Ingredients matter- soak thick slices of good quality bread in just enough water to be absorbed. The bread must have a course enough texture so that it can hold up to this bath without falling apart, so "Wonder Bread" won't due. Here I used Heritage Sour from Whole Foods. As you can see, the water is fully absorbed by the bread. Let rest for 10 minutes or so.
STEP 3:
STEP 4:
Combine bread, diced tomatoes, torn basil leaves, onions along with their soaking liquid, olive oil and salt.
PRO TIP #1- with so few ingredients, each one counts so use good quality products. The oil I prefer for this dish is a pungent one from Tuscany.
PRO TIP #2 - Feel free to be creative! Do you also have cucumbers, peppers or zucchini in your garden? Add them! No basil but you have mint, no worries! Cooking is meant to be a fun, creative outlet and not a daily drugery, so experiment away!
Glad you liked the oil! 💚