When I decided to start this challenge I told myself that I would try new food. Probably not everything I cook I'll eat, but I'm hoping to be brave enough to try most of it. This is the first 'new' food thing I have cooked so I was a bit apprehensive.
It was an easy dish to make. It'd be even easier if I had've kept an eye on the oil and garlic cooking the first time, rather then burn it and have to start the dressing again. The ingredients are naturally contemplative of each other. Tomatoes, beans and basil. Oil, garlic, anchovy and sherry vinegar. I didn't have any sherry vinegar so I substituted with Balsamic. Yes, I know it has a different taste but I wasn't going to go out and buy a whole bottle for a few tablespoons. And trust me, balsamic worked.
Cut up tomatoes and beans and set aside. Heat oil, garlic and anchovy in a pan and cook till the garlic is golden. Now, you know when you're watching a cooking show and the chef puts in anchovy and they always say 'they dissapear, you'll never know they're there, it's just for flavour.' Well, I never believed them. How could it dissapear? Seriously?
I looked. It dissapeared. So sue me.
I think the best part of this dish is what I learnt. Once the garlic is cooked, remove it from the heat and carefully pour in the vinegar. The pan and oil is still so hot that it starts cooking the sugars in the vinegar and the whole dressing becomes this lovely sweet, sticky, garlicy liquid that I could've savored for days. I mean, it was awesome. Once the dressing is ready, pour over the tomatoes and let marinate for half an hour. Add some basil, shavings of pecorino (again, I didn't have this and substituted for Parmesan) and voila!
As with the last salad it's missing the 'you'll need a big chunk of bread to soak up the remainder of the dressing or you'll end up licking the plate clean' bit at the end of the recipe. Yes, I can see how it's healthy without it, but I think the bread would round it up nicely.
Seriously good food.
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