Confit tomatoes

A part of the red mullet tart recipe but also a very versatile ingredient to have in you pantry.

They will keep, covered in oil in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 weeks.

Use them in sandwiches, with fish, pasta, risotto ,… I am sure you will find many use for this delicious preserve. Use the preserving oil for salad dressing or even to start a risotto !

This recipe is adapted from Heston Blumenthal’s book “Family food”

Ingredients :

1 clove of garlic
10 fresh basil leaves
10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
10 tomatoes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar

 

Method :

1. Peel, halve and deseed  the tomatoes

2. Leave the tomatoes to drain on kitchen paper for an hour

3. Preheat the oven to 110c

4. Peel and very finely slice the garlic

5. Cut each basil leaf in 1/2

6. Break up the thyme sprigs

7. Roughly chop the bay leaves

8. Generously brush the tomatoes with the olive oil & lay them out on a baking sheet, cut side up

9. Into each cavity, place a slice of garlic, some basil & thyme, season lightly with S&P. Sprinkle with sugar

10. Cook in the pre-heated oven for approx 4 hours, turning the tomatoes 1/2 way through

11. The cooking time will vary depending on the ripeness of the tomatoes. When done, they will have turned a vibrant deep red & be slightly wrinkled, do not let them over-cook as they may turn into something more akin to sun-blushed

Roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine

A quick, easy and great way to bring the flavour of the tomatoes out.

In the UK, the tomato season runs from June to October.

Ingredients for 4 to 5 servings :

– 300g cherry tomatoes on the vine

– 1 tbsp good quality olive oil

– S&P

Method :

1. Pre-heat the oven o 180c-220c

2. Place the tomatoes (still on their vine) in an oven-proof dish

3. Drizzle with olive oil

4. Season with salt and pepper

5. Roast for 10 to 20 mins. The timing will depend on the ripeness of the tomato but as rule, remove them a couple of minutes after they have started to crack and get wrinkly.

BEWARE when eating as the very high water content will mean they will stay piping hot at the centre for quite a while !

 

Troncon de cabillaud roti sur une fine ratatouille – Cod steak on a bed of ratatouille

There are two secrets to this dish :

– Chop the vegetables as fine as you can (about 3-5mm cubes)

– Get the pan really hot to sear and crisp the skin of the fish

 

Ingredients for 4 servings :

– 4 cod steaks

– 1 onion

– 1 red pepper

– 1 green pepper

– 3 courgettes

– 2 aubergines

– 3 garlic cloves

– 1 bouquet garnis

– 150g peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped tomatoes

– S&P

– Olive oil

 

Method:

1. Chop all the vegetables and keep separately

2. Heat some olive oil on medium heat and add the peppers, onion and garlic to sweat and soften

3. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the courgettes and aubergines

4. Bring both batches of vegetables together and add the tomatoes

5. Heat for a few minutes on medium heat to break the tomatoes down but take care the vegetables are still a  little crunchy

6 . Check the seasoning and place in a sieve over a small bowl

7. Use the oil that the ratatouille has rendered to cook the fish

8. Heat that oil to very hot, add a little more oil if necessary

9. Season the fish and place skin down in the pan to crisp the skin

10. lower the heat and turn the fish around, finish cooking in a hot oven

Serve with a crisp and cool white wine from Provence such as Palette AOC

Sauce tomate Matignon – Matignon tomato sauce

As the tomato season is drawing to a close it is time to stock up for those long boring winter days.

This sauce if very versatile and can easily be frozen.

Serve it as a soup, add some mascarpone and use it with pasta, add a dash of Madeira or Sherry vinegar and serve it with chicken, … use your imagination

If freezing, freeze at the “soup stage”

Ingredients for 2-4 servings :

25 g butter
75 g onion
30 g carrots
15 g celery
200 ml  chicken stock
250 g tomatoes, peeled and de-seeded (about 500g whole)
30 g tomato paste
2 sprigs  thyme
1 bay leave

Method :

1. Very finely chop the onions

2. Chop the carrots and celery into small cubes, as small as you can, reserve

3. Peel and de-seed the tomatoes. To peel the tomatoes, you will need to score a cross at the top or bottom, trying not to score the flesh. Plunge them in boiling water for a few seconds, until the skin splits further and start peeling itself away. Remove the skin with a paring knife

4. Prepare a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl. To de-seed the tomatoes, quarter them and remove the seeds and juices over that sieve.

5. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Press the on seeds and water with the back of a laddle from the tomatoes to extract as much of the juices as possible

6. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat

7. Add the onions, carrots and celery, sweat in the butter for 3-4 mins until they start to soften

8. Add the tomatoes to the pan, the tomato juice, the tomato paste, thyme and bay-leaves

9. Bring to the boil and immediately pour the chicken stock over

10. Bring this back to the boil and reduce the heat to the lowest setting

11. Gently simmer for about 30 mins

12. Remove the herbs from the sauce

13. Pass the sauce in a food-processor until smooth

14. Pass the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve, scraping the edge of the sieve with the back of a spoon to extract all the pulp. Forget about doing weight-lifting on that day 😉 You’ll really need to use the muscle in your upper arms to extract all of the pulp

15. By that stage, the sauce will look a little “split”, just mix everything back together, stirring with a spatula

16. The sauce will be like a thinnish soup by then and could be served as such for about 4 people, just stir in a few drops of cream or a dash of madeira

17. For a tomato sauce, place it back in a pan over medium heat and reduced to your desired consistency. It is important to stir regularly or the bottom will scorch and burn

Colin vapeur et glace a la tomate et au vin blanc – Gratin of steamed hake with white wine and tomato sauce

A sure winner for dinner parties …. providing your friends are not watching their cholesterol level !! 😉

Ingredients for 4 servings :

4 hake steaks
400 ml fish stock
200 ml white wine
400 ml creme fraiche
170 g butter
2 small tomatoes
1 small shallot
1 medium onion
1 stick celery
6 spring onions
15 g chopped chervil – flat leaves parsley if you cannot find chervil
1 lemon
1 tbsp dried wakame

Method :
1. Tie a piece of kitchen string around the width of the hake steaks, reserve the fish in the fridge

2. Peel, de seed and finely chop the tomatoes

3. Fry them in 10g of butter for 5-6 mins to make a concasse, do not let them brown. You just want to soften them and remove as much of the moisture as possible

4. Peel and finely chop the shallot

5. Wash and finely chop the spring onions (white and light green part only)

6. Sweat the spring onions in  a little but of butter until soft

7. Finely chop the onion

8. Wash and finely chop the celery stick

9. In a medium pan, pour the fish stock and white wine, add the shallots and bring to the boil

10. Simmer or boil to reduce by 3/4

11. Add the cream, bring to the boil and reduce again to 1/2

12. Take the sauce off the heat and incorporate the cold butter, whisking it in cube by cube

13. Add the tomato concasse, chervil and spring onions

14. Check the seasoning and add the lemon juice

15. Keep the sauce in a warm place or covered on very low heat but do not let it boil as the sauce would split

16. Place one litre of water in a steamer, add the onion, celery, wakame and one tsp of salt

17. Bring to the boil and simmer to infuse the flavours for 10 mins

18. Pre-heat the grill to very high

19. Season the fish and place it on the top tier of the steamer, cover and leave to steam for about 6-7 mins, until the fish is just cooked

20. Pat dry the fish and remove the skin

21. Place in an oven-proof dish and pour the sauce over

22. Glaze (gratinate) under the grill until lightly browned and serve

23. Serve with new potatoes, green beans and a bottle of Sauvignon