One of the best things about being a chef is the instant gratification that comes from feeding people. It's the oohs and ahhs, the smiles on peoples faces, and the full house on opening night of the Del Mar Racing season that make the 13 hour days all worth it. I often relish in the fact that some of the simplest things that we do here at Market are the ones that stir up wonder within in our guests. Of course, having access to some of the best produce around from farms like Chino's and Valdivia make doing my job a little easier. When the ingredients you are using are already stellar, they don't take much tweaking to create something that makes people say "How did you do that?". Take tomato water for example...made simply from pureed tomatoes, basil, and a little seasoning, this clear tomato "consomme" is almost an afterthought at the end of the night. It literally takes about 5 minutes to throw it together, and then just a space in the refrigerator to hang the cheesecloth sack and allow it to drip. Patience, my friends, it won't be ready until tomorrow, but it will be worth it in the end. We serve this as a chilled soup, use it in martinis, and sometimes, with a few adjustments, spin it into a savory sorbet.
You too can impress your friends and be instantly gratified with our not so secret recipe and method for Tomato Water. Go ahead, try it. Mix a little vodka into it and kick back on the patio. Put your feet up. You've worked really hard for it, right? At least your friends will think so.
Tomato Water makes about 3 cups
2# heirloom tomatoes (use a good mix of sweet ones and acidic ones)
2 tsp kosher or sea salt
5 basil leaves
In batches, so as not to loose too much juice, dice tomatoes and place in the bowl of a food processor with the salt and basil. Pulse until tomatoes are a little more ragged than chopped. Do not over process.
Line a large mixing bowl with a double layer of cheesecloth that hangs way over the edges, about 3 ft. long total. Pour processed mixture into cheescloth and tie into a knot. Still over the bowl, tie bundle to a rolling pin or wooden spoon and hang from a rack in the refrigerator. Allow to hang for at least 8 hours or up to 12 hours. The tomato water will drip into the bowl. Before using, adjust seasoning to your taste. You can use the leftover "guts" in the cheesecloth sack to make a tomato sauce.
To serve as a chilled soup: Serves 4
Dice:
1 large english cucumber, seeds removed
1 avocado
12 poached, peeled and deveined shrimp
good quality extra virgin olive oil, for garnish
4 basil leaves, juliened
Arrange all ingredients (except olive oil) into a "salad" the center of 4 chilled shallow soup bowls. Ladle tomato water around the "salad". Garnish with olive oil, serve immediatley.
Nice!
ReplyDelete