Sunny days: Tomato salad with salted black olives

In many ways this recipe is a repeat of one I wrote a few years ago.  I have refined it a little due to evolving tastes.  It is still a very popular salad in this or in it's original form.

With its juicy tomato base, the salt preserved olives have an almost leather quality but, soaked in a mix of one part dry vermouth and five parts water, these little packages of flavour are a wonder to behold.

A great accompaniment to many a main course, but especially served with risotto or grilled fish, this salad is more of a salsa with its smaller pieces and with its mint, lemon and capers has more than just nod to Malta and North Africa.

For two to three generous portions:

• 150 grams of tomatoes, deseeded, cored and chopped into one centimetre cubes
• 100 grams of cucumber, deseeded, peeled and chopped, again into roughly one centimetre cubes
• A good handful, approximately twenty, large black salted olives (soaked ideally overnight as described above), chopped roughly and retain the liquid
• a dozen or so large caper berries, thinly sliced
• 20 grams of fresh mint, chopped coarsely
• A half teaspoon of dried mint
• A half teaspoon of dried cumin
• Two dessert spoons of good extra virgin oil
• The juice and zest of half a lemon

Add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, capers and fresh mint into a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Add the dried herbs and mix once more and cover and place in a cool dark room.  Ideally not a fridge as I've found the temperature takes away some of the flavour of the ingredients.

In a small bowl, add the soaking mixture from the olives, the cumin, oil, lemon juice and zest and combine thoroughly.  This mixture you do chill.

Combine the two mixtures well just before you are about to serve. 

Equally good as a topping for appetisers or as an alternative mix to add to couscous.
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