Summer Tomato Salad with Basil and Sea Salt

There is a moment in late June, after the first heat wave, when the tomatoes on the vine finally taste like themselves. This recipe gets out of their way.

Ingredients

• 3–4 ripe tomatoes, the heaviest and most fragrant ones you grew
• A small handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 small clove of garlic, minced very fine (or skip if you want it pure)
• Good olive oil
• Flaky sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Optional: a few drops of red wine vinegar, or a torn ball of fresh mozzarella

Method

1. Wash and dry the tomatoes. Core them and slice into thick rounds or rough wedges — whatever feels right.
2. Lay them on a platter in a single layer. Don't pile them.
3. Salt the tomatoes generously and wait 10 minutes. This is the only non-negotiable step. The salt pulls out water and concentrates flavor.
4. Tuck torn basil leaves between the slices. Scatter the garlic over the top if you're using it.
5. Drizzle with olive oil — more than you think. Crack pepper over.
6. If you want vinegar, a few drops only. If you want cheese, tear in mozzarella now.
7. Eat at room temperature, with bread to mop the plate.

Why this matters

Tomatoes hold the memory of the West African diaspora's long influence on American kitchens, from Southern garden traditions to the okra-tomato stews of the Lowcountry. They were not always celebrated; for decades they were considered ornamental, even poisonous, in European cooking. The fact that we now eat them by the bowlful in summer is, in part, the gift of generations of Black gardeners who kept growing them anyway.

Tips

• The fridge ruins this dish. Tomatoes go mealy below 55°F. Counter-store.
• If your tomatoes are watery, salt them on a paper towel for 10 minutes, then transfer to the platter.
• This is also the base for a perfect bruschetta — chop everything fine, pile on toasted bread.