Sicilian tomato salad

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 500 g tomatoes, red or mixed colors
• 1 handful of basil leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 chili pepper(s), hot, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup water
• some dried oregano, to taste

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 10 minutes

Insalata di pomodori, in the style of our Nonna Peppina

Cut the tomatoes into eighths and mix all the ingredients well in a bowl. You can vary the quantities; depending on how much olive oil you use, you’ll need to add water, but you should still be able to taste the oil. Add more oil if necessary if it’s too watery. Use only a little pepper, as the chilies are supposed to add the heat. Our Nonna (Grandma) loved it particularly spicy; she usually had 3-4 chilies in her salad and twice as much garlic. You can adjust everything to your own taste, but under no circumstances should you add any acid, so no vinegar or lemon juice! The salad dressing is mixed with water so that it can be easily soaked up with white bread.