A Niçoise for the first tomatoes

And a morning pilgrimage

These are halcyon days.

I wander into the garden, picking beans from the arches that straddle the raised beds as I pass underneath. I am on my way to the greenhouse where the basil grows in fields and the tomatoes are just beginning to ripen. 

I make this pilgrimage each morning. 

Partly to stay on top of the beans which grow woody and tough if left to grow big. But mainly to soak up the atmosphere in the greenhouse. The sense of anticipation is almost as heady as the scent of the tomato vines, now as tall as the greenhouse itself and festooned with almost ripe tomatoes.

I check them daily.

Because when they are ready, this tomato Niçoise salad will be the first thing I make. Later in the season there will be time for runners stewed in tomatoes; tomatoes grated on toast; tomatoes roasted for soup. But now, with this first harvest, I want to trumpet them to the table, adorned only by flavours that serve to elevate them, giving them centre stage. 

Other ways with tomatoes 

• This ultimate tomato salad in my cookbook, From the Veg Patch 

• Smoky tomato and chilli harissa

• Roast tomato soup

And not forgetting the peach and tomato salad Flora from Natoora made during last week’s video.

Tomato Niçoise

A homegrown tomato deserves centre stage, which is why this take on a nicoise puts tomatoes front and centre. No need for tuna when you’ve grown your own tomato. Feel free to make your favourite vinaigrette as the dressing, but I’m addicted to this Fortnum & Mason dressing in which every meal is drowned at the moment. So much so that it’s called magic sauce in my household.

Serves 2

• 250g new potatoes

• 3 eggs at room temperature