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Tomato Shots

08 Mar

Photo is coming – – – – I promise!!

The recipe for Tomato Shots is one of the first that got my attention in the book.

First of all, the photo looks amazing.  They are served in little glass bowls with a little tapenade visible, and a sprinkling of dust. Then you read the details and see that they are served with a brilliant tapenade and prosciutto dust.  Just the words prosciutto dust were enough to get me salivating!  I am a real savoury tooth, and anything in the bacon/speck/prosciutto family gets my vote straight off.

There are 3 main components to this dish:

  • Tomato sorbet
  • Tapenade
  • Prosciutto dust
You need to prepare for this recipe – but I bet there isn’t anything stopping you having a few zip lock bags of diced tomatoes in the freezer, especially if you buy in bulk – or – even better – grow your own.
I made the tomato shots and used them as an entree for dinner on Sunday night with the family, serving them in martini glasses.
They tasted lovely, but I think there was too much of a good thing – and believe it or not, it tasted really rich.  I think the best way to serve would be in small bit sized nibbles – so they’d be perfect for a special hors d’oeuvre or amuse bouche.  I’m going to make them again this week and take some photos this time of the way I plan to serve them up – — but you’ll have to wait and see for the picture!  I’ve just cut up the tomatoes this morning and popped them in the freezer, so that might be a project for tomorrow.
The Tapenade
The tapenade recipe is good. I like my tapenade a little chunky, and the recipe makes a chunky-ish tapenade.  It’s very quick and easy to make.  Next time I think I’ll reduce the amount of parsley a little, but that’s more my personal taste.
The tomatoes 

You need to make sure you have really flavoursome tomatoes for this recipe, as they really are the heart and soul of the dish.  Believe it or not, the tastiest tomatoes that I’ve found recently are from Costco.  They come in 1 kilo boxes and you can get the little grape variety or the cherry truss tomatoes.  I had been to Costco where I bought a box, and then I saw this recipe… kismet!

The recipe doesn’t call for peeling the tomatoes as you blitz them in the the Thermomix anyway, but next time I make these, I think I will peel at least half of them – only reason being is that as I use the smaller tomatoes, there is proportionally more skin.

I used lemon zest in my first attempt, and I think I’ll try the lime zest next time.  I’ll let you know what the outcome is!!

The Prosciutto Dust

Oh, how lovely!  All you need to do is effectively ‘dry’ the prosciutto in the oven and then blitz the hell out of it.  One pack of prosciutto from the deli (100g) made quite a lot when you consider you don’t need much per serve.  It keeps in the fridge in a sealed container quite well.

When I’m baking it next time, rather than rest it on the baking paper, I’m going to try and bake it on a cooling rack on a tray with the baking paper under the cooling rack.  I think it might help get rid of all the dampness a little better than just laying it on the baking paper.  Even so, the suggested method works well…it’s just that I love it even more when it’s really, really, crunchy (and who can resist taking just a little bit to try before you blitz it??)

I’m planning to use the left over dust as a garnish on poached eggs, the bulk standard Thermomix mushroom risotto, and  on toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches.

 
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Posted by on March 8, 2012 in Bites and snacks, Entrees

 

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