Irish tomatoes are at their prime in August, having done the groundwork early in spring you will be reaping the rewards of beautiful, plump, and juicy tomatoes this month. Incredibly versatile and easy to grow at home, they come in many shapes and colours (think beef, plum, cherry, golden, green, and heirloom varieties). These are mouthwatering jewels from the garden just waiting to be celebrated in all their delicious simplicity. And on that note, here is our spin on a bounty of some we recently plucked.
Enjoy x
What You Need:
- 907g very ripe tomatoes, a mix of varieties and colours
- 170g fresh mozzarella, torn or cut into bite-size pieces
- Half thinly sliced red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, grated to a paste
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or thyme (or a bit of both)
- Half a teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 thinly sliced small cucumber
- Handful torn basil leaves
- A handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 85g ciabatta or baguette, preferably stale, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- Black pepper, to taste
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
What To Do:
- Heat oven to 220 degrees.
- Cut the bread into cubes and add to a bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt before baking for about 7 minutes until golden. Leave to cool.
- Meanwhile, chop tomatoes into bite-size pieces and add to a bowl with a mixture of your mozzarella, onions, garlic paste, 1 tablespoon vinegar, oregano or thyme, and pinch of salt.
- Next, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, the mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper, slowly drizzling in the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil until mixture becomes thickened. Then add your cucumbers, basil, and parsley to this mixture.
- Finally, add your bread cubes, capers, and above mixture to the tomatoes and toss everything together, leaving to sit for a minimum of 30 minutes (but ideally at least 2 hours).
- Before serving, you can add a sprinkle of oil, vinegar, and salt.