Tomato sauce, aromatic herbs and a bed of capers

Josean Alija

For 4 people

Lacquering the tomatoes

Red onion juice
2 kg of peeled red onions
salt
sugar

Yellow pepper juice

1000 g of peppers with the seeds and top removed
salt
sugar

Green pepper juice
1000 g of green peppers with the seeds and top removed
salt
sugar

Onion reduction
200 g of onion juice
sugar

Green pepper reduction
200 g of green pepper juice
sugar

Yellow pepper reduction

200 g of yellow pepper juice
sugar

Tomato water

200 g of ripe baby plum tomatoes
salt
sugar

Tomato and caper stock made in the Gastrovac
500 g of tomato water
200 g of Ballobar capers with the stalks removed

Tomato and caper soup
200 g of tomato and caper stock
0.2 g of Xanthan

Stuffed tomatoes

Tomato sauce for the filling
1,000 g of ripe baby plum tomatoes
10 g of Kalamata vinegar
fine salt
sugar

Cold infusion to stuff the tomatoes

Tomato and citronella sauce
100 g of tomato sauce
2 g of crushed citronella

Tomato and chive sauce
100 g of tomato sauce
2g of chives

Tomato and mint sauce
100 g of tomato sauce
2 g of peppermint

Tomato and rosemary sauce
100 g of tomato sauce
2 g of rosemary leaves

Calcified cherry tomatoes

Lime bath
200 g of water
40 g of lime (mineral)

Candied tomatoes

30% syrup
100 g of water
30 g of sugar

Candied lime tomatoes
16 scalded and peeled cherry tomatoes
100 g of 30% syrup

Garnish
Basil leaves
Extra virgin olive vinegar
 

 

Lacquering the tomatoes

Red onion juice
Peel the onions and cut them in half. Grill without oil, place on a tray and season with a pinch of salt and sugar. Place the vegetables in a vacuum bag and steam at 100 °C for about 5 hours. Take out of the oven and then drain.

Yellow pepper juice
Grill the whole surface of the peppers until slightly golden. Place them on a tray and sprinkle them with salt and sugar, leaving them to release their water.
Place the peppers in a vacuum bag and steam on a rack at 100 °C for about 4 hours. Then leave them to rest, away from the heat for 30 minutes so that the peppers release their juice without being pressed.

Green pepper juice
Wash the peppers with a cloth, remove the seeds and grill the whole length of the peppers until slightly golden. Place them on a tray and sprinkle them with salt and sugar. Place the peppers in a vacuum bag and steam on a rack at 100 °C for about 3 hours.
Then leave them to rest, away from the heat for 30 minutes so that the peppers release their juice without being pressed.

Onion reduction
Reduce the stock to obtain a resin. Add a touch of sugar if necessary. Make sure that the reduction is not bitter, because it will be used to lacquer the tomatoes filled with aubergine-mint before serving.

Green pepper reduction
Reduce the stock to obtain a resin. Add a touch of sugar if necessary. Make sure that the reduction is not bitter and use it to lacquer the tomato filled with chives before serving.

Yellow pepper reduction
Reduce the stock to obtain a resin. Add a touch of sugar if necessary, the important thing is that the reduction is not bitter. Use it later to lacquer the tomatoes filled with citronella before serving.

Tomato water
Wash the tomatoes in a water and disinfectant solution. Rinse under running water, dry thoroughly and blend in a Thermomix with a pinch of salt and sugar. Filter the purée to obtain a sauce, without pressing the tomato through. You will obtain a clear, very slightly coloured liquid.

Tomato and caper stock made in the Gastrovac
Cut the capers in half, remove the stalks, add them to the tomato water (in the fridge) and place in the Gastrovac. Programme the machine at 62 °C for 60 minutes. After completing the infusion, strain directly over the tomato made earlier. Cool the liquid obtained in an inverted bain-marie and store in a covered container.

Tomato and caper soup
Take the liquid and bind it with the xanthan with the aid of a blender. Place everything in a container for the vacuum machine and create the vacuum, eliminating the air bubbles that will have formed when adding the xanthan to the liquid.

Stuffed tomatoes
Wash the tomatoes in a water and disinfectant solution, rinse under running water, dry thoroughly and place on a tray. Season with a pinch of salt and sugar and the vinegar, in the quantity indicated. Bake in the oven at 170 °C for 30 minutes. Drain the tomatoes, keeping the juice from cooking and pressing them well in a strainer. Reduce the liquid obtained by half. Set to one side.

Cold infusion to stuff the tomatoes

Tomato and citronella sauce
Blend with the aid of a Thermomix for a minute and filter the mixture through a fine strainer. Season with salt and sugar if necessary. Set to one side.

Tomato and chive sauce
Blend in a Thermomix for one minute and filter through a fine strainer. Season with salt and sugar if necessary. Set to one side.

Tomato and mint sauce
Blend in a Thermomix for one minute and filter through a fine strainer. Season with salt and sugar if necessary. Set to one side.

Tomato and rosemary sauce
Blend with the aid of a Thermomix for one minute and filter through a fine strainer. Season with salt and sugar. Set to one side.

Calcified cherry tomatoes
Take 16 medium sized cherry tomatoes weighing 13-15 g each, no more no less. The ripeness of the tomatoes is very important. If they are too ripe they will break in the lime and be impossible to use. So they have to be just ripe enough and must be treated very gently.
Place a large pan of salted water on the heat, with 12 g of salt for each litre of water. Boil the water and scald the tomatoes enough to peel them (if there are no signs of splitting, the tomato skin will split as a result of the thermal shock and be easier to peel). Cool them in water and ice and peel them.
Place the tomatoes in a pan with the lime bath. Remove the pan after 5-10 minutes to prevent the lime from boiling over and ruining the calcification process. Leave like this for 3 hours. Wash under a jet of cold water to eliminate any lime residue.

Candied tomatoes
Add the water to the sugar in a pan and place on the heat. Bring to the boil and lower the heat. Cool and set to one side.

Candied lime tomatoes
Place the calcified tomatoes in a vacuum bag with the syrup. Place them in a vacuum, keeping them separate from each other. Steam at 100 °C for 40 minutes. Take them out of the vacuum and dry in the oven for 30 minutes at 80 °C on parchment. When dry, set to one side.

Stuffed tomatoes
Stuff the tomatoes with the different sauces: some with rosemary, others with citronella, others with chives and others with mint. Set to one side until ready to serve, one per person.
The rosemary ones will be flavoured with the sprigs and passed under the grill.

Lacquered stuffed tomatoes
Tomatoes filled with tomato sauce and chives: lacquer them with the green pepper at the last moment.
Tomatoes filled with tomato sauce and citronella: lacquer them with the red pepper at the last moment.
Tomatoes filled with tomato sauce and rosemary: these are not lacquered but passed under the grill.
Tomatoes filled with tomato sauce and mint: lacquer them with the red onion at the last moment.

Heat the stuffed tomatoes in a steam oven, arranging them so that you can tell them apart by their contents. Herat the tomato and caper soup, season with salt and sugar if necessary. Choose the basil leaves. Lacquer the tomatoes apart from the rosemary ones, which will be flavoured with a little extra virgin olive vinegar and grilled briefly under the overhead grill.

Position the hot tomatoes so that the rosemary one (flavoured and grilled) is last. Serve the tomato and caper soup at 70 °C and place the basil leaves on the soup, like in a Zen garden.