Edible Balcony - Recipe for the Last of the Summer Tomatoes

Sadly the last of my summer tomatoes are ripening and the vines are withering.

From the two bushes on the balcony I've harvested about 10 kilos of tomatoes since November. Most were enjoyed by Daryl our concierge when he was tending to the balcony while we were away in December!

But there has still been an ample bounty of us to enjoy - mostly fresh in salads or on toast with pesto.

There really is no other way to have tomatoes other than homegrown.

I used the sweet cherry tomatoes to make this chorizo, bean and tomato salad. So quick and so evocative of the Mediterranean.

Recipe: Hot Chorizo with Cannellini Bean and Tomato Salad (adapted from theMoro Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 x 400g can of cannellini beans or butter beans

20 sweet cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 red onion thinly sliced

1 medium bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

a drizzle of olive oil

250g mild or spicy spicy cooking chorizo, cut into little pieces

sea salt and black pepper

For sherry vinegar dressing:

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

a squeeze of lemon (optional)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and red pepper

Method:

Drain the beans and rinse thoroughly.Put in a bowl with the tomatoes, red onions and parsley. Pour on the dressing, toss well and let the salad sit for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan with a little olive oil. As the chorizo is crisping up arrange the salad on a plate. When the chorizo is golden on both sides spoon it on to the salad - with the cooking oils - and serve immediately.

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Postscript - thank you to all the David Attenboroughs out there who responded to my bug S.O.S. The baby praying mantis has been safely returned to the basil bush where he no doubt will put those fearsome chompers into action!