Tomato and Basil Salad

February 27, 2001

The Spouse bought me a chef's knife for Christmas several years ago and it has been my constant kitchen companion ever since. I am also caretaker of the set of knives I bought for my son when he was doing the chef's component of a hospitality course at polytech.

I have numerous knives in my kitchen but I have to say my favourites are the Wusthof Dreizack (or Trident) knives. These are high carbon no-stain steel knives. They are nicely balanced, take but a moment to hone and make those various cutting and chopping tasks so easy.

I attended Italian cooking class for a couple of years. It was held at a local high school and I soon realised the chopping knives used by the students left a lot to be desired, so I would take along my own. Pretty soon I had people sidling by, asking if they could borrow it for a minute or two. The joy of using a good, sharp knife is something worth experiencing.

I sharpen my knives with a whet stone. A sharp knife has tiny microscopic teeth along the cutting edge. When the knife is used, these teeth gradually flatten out. A honing steel is used to draw those teeth back into shape so the edge is keen. The whet stone removes the metal from the cutting edge and remakes the edge. For more about knife sharpening, go to http://www.jacquespepin.net/members/techniques/howtosharpenaknife.html

The next best things to my chef's knives are my wooden chopping boards. I have two. I have long since forgotten where the first one came from, but it is made from several laminated strips of wood. I like a hardish wood. I find pine too soft. The other chopping board was a gift from my friends at the NZ Vegetable and Potato Growers Federation. I've tried various other chopping boards - plastic ones, glass ones - but in my opinion you can't beat wood and I am convinced it is kinder on my knives.

Research has shown wood seems to have a mysterious antibiotic effect on food contaminating bacteria. (You'll find information on this at http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/AS...). I give the boards a good scrub after use and I haven't managed to poison my family yet.

I store my knives in a wooden block. A tip here - put the knives in with the sharp edge upwards to keep from dulling the edge.

You definitely need a sharp knife for cutting tomatoes. In fact a tomato will quickly show up a blunt knife.

This tomato and basil salad is best when outdoor tomatoes are available. They have infinitely more flavour than the hothouse variety although I have bought under-ripe hothouse tomatoes and let them ripen on the windowsill in the sun.

Fresh basil is readily available these days. My supermarket sells it growing in little pots. I put one of these in a glazed flowerpot on the windowsill, water it regularly and have fresh basil when I need it. Other growing herbs are available like this and can be varied with the season - chives, coriander, dill, marjoram.

An avocado makes a good addition to this salad. Halve, peel and slice it and ensure it gets a good coating of dressing to prevent it from browning.

Tomato and Basil Salad

4 large tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
grated rind of one lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Arrange the tomato slices on a flat serving plate. Whisk the remaining ingredients together and spoon over the tomatoes. Allow to sit at least an hour before serving,