A feisty little side dish.

The lively charms of this feisty little side dish will perk up even the plainest of plates with its dazzle of colour and punchy flavours. It’s part salsa, part salad – if you ran it through a blender, you’d have a decent corn-chip dip. But I like it in its purer, chunkier state, the tomatoes still forkable, dressed in lime juice and speckled with coriander. It’s great spooned alongside grilled or roasted chicken pieces, and a summery revelation when served with barbecued fish.

Letting the onion – I use a small shallot, but use whatever you have to hand or prefer – sit in some lime juice for a while will tone down its burn (and give it a pretty colour makeover, too). If you're the heat-seeking type, you could add a little finely chopped chilli pepper, though I think it’s more than fine without it.

With the tomatoes and the lime juice bringing their acidity into play, don’t make this in any sort of metallic bowl. That’s also the reason it has a limited shelf life – something to make and dress quickly and easily at the last minute, tossed together just before sitting down to eat.

Cherry tomato salsa salad

For 2, as a side dish.

1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
1 lime
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
250g (½ pound) cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons coriander (cilantro), chopped
sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper

Put the onion in a small bowl or cup and add the juice of half the lime and a pinch of salt. Set it aside for 20 minutes.

Juice the other half of the lime into your serving bowl. Add the olive oil and sugar (adding a little more sugar to taste, if the lime is particularly tart), season with salt and pepper and whisk together to combine.

Quarter the cherry tomatoes and add to the bowl. Drain the onion (discard the juice) and toss everything together gently but throughly. Serve immediately.