Down here in the South of France we are busy painting, titivating and tweaking as we get the house ready for a September opening as a B& B.

Breakfasts here are simple things, some Poached Apricots, some Fromage Frais and bread and jam with our coffee.
Lunch is also a bit of a formula, a little pate or terrine from the local butcher, a bit of cheese and fairly inevitably some variation of the tomato salad.
With a pot of Basil growing on the terrace this often consists of a sliced warm sweet tomato sprinkled with salt and black pepper before being anointed with Sherry Vinegar and then Olive oil. I rarely measure out any of these but keep somewhere in the back of my head the notion that I like about 4 parts oil to 1 part vinegar to balance the acidity of the vinegar. The crowning glory of this salad though is a rough chopping of Basil leaves scattered on top just as we serve it.
Now that the home grown tomatoes are coming on stream in Ireland (and there are none better) you can try this at home yourself, and thereby grant yourself a bowl full of the warm south.

Greek Tomato Salad (for 4)

1kg (2 lbs) Ripe Sweet Tomatoes
12 Black Olives (stone less are handy for this)
175g (6 oz.) Feta or Knockalara Sheep’s Cheese (roughly diced)
Small bunch Basil.(roughly chopped)

Dressing.
8 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper.

This should be a last minute affair and is best made from scratch at the table.
Slice the tomatoes and divide between 4 plates.
Halve the olives and scatter over the tomatoes.
Grate the pepper over these and then sprinkle over the salt. Now pour a half tbs. of vinegar on each and then 2 tablespoons of oil.
Scatter over the diced cheese.
Lastly sprinkle over the basil.
Eat slowly.

A more surprising combination which is delicious and refreshing is the following variation of the tomato salad:

Nectarine and Tomato Salad

6 Ripe Nectarines (or Peaches)
6 Large Ripe Vine Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Walnuts
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
Good Pinch Sugar
Salt and Pepper.


Slice the nectarines in wedges against the stone and slice the tomatoes in similar shaped wedges. Alternating the two fruits, arrange in overlapping circles on 4 plates.
Put the walnuts, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper into a liquidizer and whizz. Dribble in the olive oil slowly and it should emulsify with the other ingredients.(Don't worry if it doesn’t)
Spoon the sauce over the fruit on the plate and serve immediately.