This last August, the heat wave across central Italy was intense.
One evening toward the end of my stay, when my fresh blow-out from the salon up the street quickly became something out of The Ring, I gave up on cooking and threw some things into a bowl.
This combo of ingredients won’t make headlines, but it was a first for me and will be a go-to going forward.
INGREDIENTS
Olive oil (a good one and lots of it)
Garlic (chopped and lots of it)
Cherry tomatoes
Avocado
Basil (fresh, fresh, fresh)
Salt
Bread
The olive oil, garlic, salt, and juice from the tomatoes create a dressing that’s astonishingly good. Put those ingredients in first and let them sit together for a while.
Use a bread that’s crusty and chewy and fights back a little, like a pumpernickel or peasant round. Toast it or just dunk tears of it into the salad and let them soak up the flavors.
Honestly, we couldn’t shovel it in fast enough.