Bell and Hot Peppers
Tomatoes
Garlic & kosher salt
Onion – chopped into thin lengths
Red wine vinegar
Good olive oil
Plenty of kosher salt
PEPPERS & TOMATOES Trim the peppers (use a mixture of bell peppers and hot peppers (poblanos, jalapenos, or serranos) and remove the seeds and membranes to discard. Cut into quarter or halves, press with the back of your hand to flatten. Grill the peppers and tomatoes skin-sides down until the skins blacken and blister all over. Leave the skins on (they provide great flavor) and let cool. (Stop here if prepping ahead.) Chop both the tomatoes and peppers into rough pieces, one-inch pieces or lengths for a side dish, or into tiny bites for a salsa.
SALAD Mash the garlic and salt into a paste by chopping the garlic as fine as possible with a knife, then mashing the pieces into the salt with the side of a knife; stir into the peppers and tomatoes. Gently splash the vegetables with equivalent volumes of vinegar and olive oil. Now get salty — stir in salt, tasting after each addition. It should taste a little salty for later when the juices flow from the peppers and tomatoes. If the peppers and tomatoes don't taste that good, it's likely because the dish needs more salt.
KITCHEN NOTES
I'm not giving quantities because this salad so easily adapts to small and large quantities. Still, some guidance may be helpful. For a dozen large tomatoes and 5 large peppers, I used 1/2 a white onion, 3 large garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons (yes, tablespoons – "It should taste like a salted tomato" and suggest 2 – 3 tablespoons) of kosher salt, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
You'll want roughly equivalent amounts of tomatoes and peppers.