There’s something so simple and enriching about good quality bread, tomatoes, and olive oil, and this recipe is totally addictive. It’s not quite a bruscetta nor a salad, but somewhere in between. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to enjoy great food, and this ciabatta means just that.

I love it served for lunch with my lentil salad, spinach, walnut, and tomato salad, and olive tapenade

Serves: 2

Prep: 5 minutes

Cooking: 5 minutes

Ingredients: 

4 salad tomatoes, or 200g cherry tomatoes, finely sliced.  If you have time, sprinkle with salt and leave them out in the sun for an hour or so beforehand, to really bring out their natural sweetness 

2 big handfuls spinach

Sliced ciabatta (several slices each)

1 handful flaked almonds

Salt and pepper

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar/ lemon juice

Fresh herbs like basil, sage, parsley, or thyme, if you have any

Method:

1. Heat a medium non-stick frying pan, and lightly toast the almonds
2. Tip the almonds out of the pan, and replace with the spinach, tomatoes and herbs.
3. On a low heat, fry until the tomatoes are aromatic and the spinach wilted. The juice from the tomatoes should mean that you don’t need to add any oil.
4. Either in a griddle pan or a toaster, lightly toast the ciabatta until warm and slightly crispy on the outside.
5. Take the pan off the heat, and add olive oil, vinegar/ lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve sprinkled with the almonds and spooned onto the warm ciabatta.