Recipe from Ali Slagle New York Times

Serves 4

This is the dish that helped me discover that I loved the taste of food again. This late summer treat had me at first bite. The wonderfulness of homegrown tomatoes infused with garlic oil and fresh basil is the bomb. 

As a dyed-in-the-wool foodie, the roughest part of going through chemotherapy was my intense hatred for the taste of food. I fully expected to lose all of my hair, feel nauseated for a day or two after the treatment, and all the other things they warn you about when going through chemotherapy. Since food had always been a pathway to comfort, this development was shocking. A self-proclaimed foodie who hates food? My shrinking world was getting even smaller because I didn’t have my food hobby. 

It wasn’t just the taste of food that bothered me; the smell of bread toasting or garlic cooking was incredibly icky. If I tried to be vertical, it would send everyone scrambling for bowls to catch whatever food my family members had convinced me to choke down. Food tasted bad to me, and even water was impossible to take. I really disliked the taste of meat, chicken, fish, sugar, bread, fats, and don’t get me started on eggs. 

Friends would come to visit, with the best intentions, bearing gifts of lunches, desserts, and smoothies. Initially, I would choke down the tasty treats. Then I began pushing the food around on the plate, hoping no one would notice, and ultimately resorted to blunt honesty, explaining my hatred for all things food-related. 

The funny thing is that, in my head, I still knew how food was supposed to taste, and I would ask Lorelei, my sister, to make a dish I was convinced I could eat. She was very accommodating, even when she knew I would take one bite and announce that it was icky. 

I would question her cooking skills by asking her if she used salt, if she tasted it or if she might have added too much oil. With her infinite patience, she assured me that she had followed the recipe. I developed other theories, like skinny people were not thin because of their great discipline, but because they didn’t like the taste of food. It turned out, I’m a bad chemo patient, and no matter how tough I thought I was going to be, that treatment was just not going to work. So I stopped it and opted for another route.

During this time, I continued to read recipes from the New York Times Food Section and started working on the infamous and long-delayed cookbook project again. (The one you are reading right now.) 

Even though I couldn’t stand the taste yet, I still loved reading about the process and the technique. Eventually things got mostly better. But still, my sense of taste for many types of food remains suspect.  Desserts are still icky, salad dressings too oily, and eggs (I do not like them, Sam I am, not with a fox, not in a box, not in a house, not on a train). 

But this recipe broke the log jam. It is easy, delicious and colorful. I realized I wanted more when Greg asked for seconds, and my awakened taste buds whispered…”Hey, that is delicious! Don’t pass him the bowl!”

So do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go directly to Corona Farms and get a bag of just off the vine tomatoes and make this dish!

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Tomatoes (about 4 to 5 large)
• 1 t Kosher salt
• 5 T Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Large garlic cloves, minced
• 8 Large basil leaves
• Grilled or toasted crusty bread, for serving

Directions

• Core and chop the tomatoes, then transfer to a colander over a bowl or in the sink. Add the salt and gently stir. Let drain for up to 2 hours
• Meanwhile, make the garlic oil: In a small saucepan, warm the olive oil and garlic over low heat until the garlic is softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t brown.
• Set aside to cool.
• Roll the basil leaves up and thinly slice crosswise.
• When the oil is cool and the tomatoes are well drained, combine the tomatoes, garlic oil and basil in a medium bowl. Season with additional salt, to taste. Spoon over toasted bread.