Tomato and Bread Salad

Sensational Summer Salad

Looking for a new summer salad to make that will zing your tastebuds? Here is one from British chef, restaurant owner and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi! He is the author of several best-selling cook books, including Ottolenghi, Plenty, Plenty More and Jerusalem. His latest book “Simple” is full of more very delicious and different recipes!

Tomato and bread salad,
with anchovies and capers

Ingredients
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped 
110ml olive oil
Flaked sea salt
100g sourdough bread, cut into 2cm-thick slices, lightly toasted and cut again into 4cm chunks
500g ripe tomatoes, cut into rough 4cm chunks 
1 lemon, zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, then juiced, to get 2 tsp 
1 tbsp capers, drained (or rinsed, if salted) and roughly chopped
5g parsley leaves, finely chopped
5g basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes

Method

Put the first three ingredients (garlic, anchovies and olive oil) and half a teaspoon of salt into a small saucepan on a low heat. Cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the garlic and anchovies soften when mashed with the back of a spoon.

Take care that the oil does not get too hot, otherwise the garlic will catch and burn. If the oil does start to bubble too much, just take the pan off the heat until it cools down a little, then return to the stove.

Off the heat, toss the toasted chunks of sourdough in the hot oil until well coated, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the bread to a large bowl, leaving the anchovy and garlic oil in the pan.

Put the tomatoes, lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, three-quarters of the parsley and three-quarters of the basil in the bread bowl, and gently toss everything together to combine.

Transfer the salad to a serving platter, drizzle over the anchovy and garlic oil, scatter the remaining herbs on top and finish with a sprinkling of chilli.