6-18-17 Farfalle with fresh tomato salad and mozzarella

This is a dish that will appear often over the summer.  We wait all year for the fresh tomatoes.  I grew up with summer tomato salad, although my mother never combined it with pasta. It is a treat by itself, especially if you have good Italian bread to sop up the delicious juice.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Fresh tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces

2.     Olive oil

3.     Water

4.     Garlic – one clove finely chopped

5.     Fresh basil coarsely chopped

6.     Oregano – I prefer the dry oregano because the fragrance reminds of my mom’s salad.

7.     Mozzarella cheese - diced

PROCESS:

Place the tomatoes in a bowl with about ¼ cup of water.  Add the garlic, basil, and olive oil and mix well.  Salt to taste.  When the pasta is ready, drain and mix well with the tomatoes.  Add the cheese to the top of the bowl and serve.

You have to make this a few times to get a feel for the amount of water and oil to use.  No vinegar!!

I recommend making the salad and let it sit for about an hour before dinner.Thinly slice onions are optional.

COMMENTS:

This is a simmer staple.  Tonight we had a side of beet greens from the porch garden cooked in olive oil and butter with shallots and garlic.  Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture.  They were delicious.