If you are enjoying a glut of tomatoes, as many smug garden-owning people seem to be, you could do a lot worse than make a cauldron of this for supper. Being so simple it relies on the best ingredients – juicy, sweet, and almost too-ripe tomatoes, decent sourdough bread that is a day or two old, and some good, grassy olive oil. If you try it with a loaf of Warburton’s and a tin of chopped tomatoes you’ll end up with an insipid mess.

Serves 4-6
1.5kg tomatoes
200g-ish of slightly stale sourdough
A clove of garlic, peeled and minced
Extra virgin olive oil
A big handful of basil
Salt and pepper

– Wash the toms and halve or quarter them (depending on size). Bung ’em in a big saucepan with a small glass of water, cover and cook over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and the skin is sliding off. Whiz up briefly and push through a sieve, discarding skin and seed.

– Put the sieved tomato back in the pan. Tear in the bread, along with basil leaves, garlic and enough olive oil to make Jamie Oliver blush. Season like a lunatic – trust me, it will need plenty – bring to a boil and simmer for half an hour, prodding at the bread now and then.

– Check the seasoning – you may find it needs a pinch of sugar – and serve with a little flick of olive oil and a few fresh basil leaves.

Got any other nifty plans for too many tomatoes?