This recipe is taken from Dave Wardell's Notes from a Veggie Kitchen. Preparation time is no more than 20 minutes and it serves 2.

Ingredients

4 small tomatoes – on the vine
8 small – medium closed cup mushrooms
½ medium onion
Rock salt
Balsamic vinegar
Cider vinegar
Flavoured extra virgin olive oil
Fresh basil
Fresh chives
Black pepper
A small loaf of rustic bread (I used a round cheese bread – a walnut ring is good too)

Method

Put bread in a very low oven to warm.

Slice the onion and separate into rings. Put in a shallow dish and just cover with the cider vinegar. Add a teaspoon of Balsamic vinegar and leave at room temperature.

Slice the tomatoes and lay flat on a plate or board. Sprinkle with rock-salt (3-4 grains each slice) leave for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a little oil in a heavy pan until it goes thin, but not too hot.

Slice the mushrooms and put in the pan with a couple of grinds of black pepper. Turn the heat down as low as possible and let the mushrooms sweat for 10-minutes until soft.

To serve, arrange the tomatoes, on a plate, then drain and arrange the rings and finally the warm mushrooms. Grind some black pepper to taste and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh basil and chives to taste. Drizzle flavoured extra virgin olive oil over everything and serve with the warm bread and have the oil on the table for people to help themselves to more to dip their bread in.

The whole thing takes about 20 minutes from start to serving.

Hint

I always decant some olive oil into a small bottle and put in two peeled cloves of garlic and a sprig of rosemary or lavender from the garden so as to have some for dressings. After a few days (and it improves with age) the oil is nicely flavoured. You can of course buy flavoured oils but they are so expensive and it’s so easy to make. Basil, chives and other herbs live in pots on the kitchen windowsill in winter and from the garden in summer.

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