Ingredients

　　8 taralli, each cut or broken into 4 pieces

　　1 pound ripe plum or beefsteak tomatoes at room temperature, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

　　1 small red onion, diced (about 1 cup)

　　12 fresh basil leaves, shredded

　　5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

　　Salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　Fresh basil sprigs

　　Toss the taralli, tomatoes, onion, and shredded basil leaves together in a serving bowl. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the salad and toss to mix thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Taste and season, if necessary, with additional salt and pepper. Decorate with sprigs of fresh basil.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.