You can make this salad at any time of the year, although I usually make a big bowl of this for my BBQ parties in the summer and for the Pigeon Cottage Xmas party. It’s very easy to make, looks stunning, tastes amazing.

• Buy enough tomatoes to fill whatever large serving bowl you are going to use. I usually buy a selection of cherry, baby plum, heritage and large tomatoes – preferably in different colours if you can buy the yellow or orange coloured ones. I chop them into different sizes – half for the cherries, chunks for the larger ones – so it adds visual interest. By the way, never store tomatoes in the fridge because it totally deadens the flavour.
• I make a simple dressing of two parts extra-virgin olive oil and one part sherry vinegar (you can also use a good quality red wine vinegar and a drop or two of pomegranate molasses) with a generous pinch of Maldon salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
• Toss the chopped tomatoes and their juices with the dressing and leave to infuse for at least an hour before serving at room temperature. If there are any leftovers you can heat them through gently and serve with pasta as a simple sauce with some fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

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