Dinner 5 - Tomato

"Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."

Yes, this weeks ingredient is the humble tomato.

From Sydney we have tomato, basil & mozzarella parcels; a warm salad of roast tomato & buffalo mozzarella; and tomato & chilli stracci with prawns. Hong Kong has
provided us with cherry tomatoes with brie; and baked salmon with warm cherry tomato salad. And finally from Brisbane, roasted rabbit with tomato, chorizo & olives; and tomato confit with double cream.

Up first, the dishes from Sydney:

Tomato, basil & mozzarella parcels

Ingredients:
2 Vine ripened tomatoes
6 large basil leaf's
Balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Buffalo Mozzarella cheese

Method:
• Place 6 large basil leaves on a plate.
• Slice buffalo mozzarella into 6 slices.
• Slice vine-ripened tomatoes into 6 slices.
• Place slice of tomato on top of each basil leaf. Then place a slice of buffalo mozzarella on top of each slice of tomato.
• Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Warm salad of roast tomato and buffalo mozzarella

Ingredients:
Serves 4
4 vine-ripened tomatoes
1 red onion
1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
4 slices of prosciutto
1 buffalo mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method:
• Preheat the oven to 150C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
• Slice the tomatoes in half crossways and sit them on the baking tray, cut side up. Peel the onion and cut it in half, then slice into half-moons and add to the baking tray. Season the tomatoes and onion with the sugar and a generous sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are beginning to soften around the edges.
• Slice the cheese into four thick rounds and wrap each one in a prosciutto slice. Add the mozzarella parcels to the baking tray and bake for a further 20 minutes.
• Divide the tomatoes and onion among four serving plates. Sit the mozzarella parcels in the middle. Whisk the vinegar and olive oil together and drizzle over the salad.

Tomato and chilli stracci with prawns

Ingredients:
Serves 4
100ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 long red chillies, finely chopped
250gm yellow grape tomatoes
250gm red grape tomatoes
100ml tomato passata
80ml white wine
400gm stracci
12 medium green prawns, peeled, veins removed, tails intact and butterflied.

Chilli breadcrumbs:
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped.
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
70gm fresh sourdough breadcrumbs
2 tbsp finely grated lemon rind.

Method:
• For chilli breadcrumbs, heat olive oik in a large frying pan over medium-high hear, add garlic and chilli and cook for 2-3 minutes or until garlic is soft, add breadcrumbs and lemon rind and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly groung black pepper and set aside.
• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add onion, half the garlic and chilli and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Increase heat to high, add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are beginning to soften, add tomato passata and wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Cook stracci in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.
• Meanwhile, combine remaining garlic, chilli and olive oil, season to taste and brush over cut side of prawns. Heat a frying pan over high heat, add prawns and cook for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked.
• Drain stracci, toss through tomato sauce and divide among serving bowls. Top with prawns and serve immediately.


From Hong Kong, we have the following dishes:

Cherry tomatoes and Brie

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
4 1/2oz Round Brie cheese
Coarsely cracked black pepper
7 oz Cherry tomatoes
1 tbl snipped fresh herbs (to 2 tbsps.) choose from basil, oregano, marjoram
Fresh herb sprigs savoury, dill, or a combination of them
Sliced French bread

Method:
• Generously line a 9 inch microwave-safe pie plate or quiche dish with fresh herb sprigs. Place cheese over herbs in dish.
• Using the tip of a paring knife, score top of the cheese in a diamond pattern. Generously top cheese with black pepper. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power (high) 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or till cheese just starts to melt.
• Arrange tomatoes around cheese. Sprinkle cheese and tomatoes with snipped herbs.
• Cook on high 1 minutes more or till tomatoes are warm. Cut cheese into wedges; serve with tomatoes and bread.
• Makes 4 to 6 appetizer servings.

Baked salmon with warm cherry tomato salad

Ingredients :
Serves 2
CHERRY TOMATO SALAD
8 lrg sliced cherry tomatoes - (abt 2/3 cup)
3 green onions thinly sliced
2 tbl diced celery
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp light brown sugar - (lightly packed)
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp celery seed
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
SALMON
2 salmon filets - (5 oz ea) skin removed, rinsed, and blotted dry
Olive oil spray
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Method :
• For the Cherry Tomato Salad: Heat tomatoes, green onions, celery, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, basil, celery seed, salt and pepper to taste in small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until warm and well mixed, about 1 minute.
• For the Salmon: Lightly spray top of filets with olive oil spray. Generously season with salt and pepper. Place salmon oiled-side up on foil-lined baking sheet sprayed with olive oil spray. Bake at 450 degrees until sizzling and fish flakes with fork, 6 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of filets.
• Place fillets on warm dinner plates and spoon Cherry Tomato Salad with juices on each. Serve hot.


And finally the menu from Brisbane:

Roast rabbit with tomato, chorizo & olives

Ingredients:
Serves 4
1 rabbit, jointed
150g chorizo, sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove of garlic, sliced
4 tomatoes, blanched peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2cups of dry white wine
150g Ligurian olives
Wild rocket or baby cavolo nero

Method:
• Pre-heat oven to 175C. Lay the rabbit in a heavy baking dish with the chorizo, cinnamon, onion, garlic.
• Season with salt and pepper, add the wine and tomatoes, mix well then drizzle with a little olive oil.
• Cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat feels soft and pulls away easily from the bone. Stir through the rocket and allow to wilt.

Confit tomatoes with cream

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
6 large, ripe and firm tomatoes
180g sugar
1/2 cup water
1 vanilla bean
1 strip orange zest (coloured part only)
1 cardamom pod, bruised
Balsamic vinegar

Method
• Dissolve the sugar in the water. Add the vanilla bean, orange zest and cardamom pod, and bring slowly to simmering point. Drop in the tomato quarters and keep the syrup just below simmering point for about 15 minutes.
• Cool for a few minutes in the syrup and then lift the tomatoes out on to a paper-lined rack resting over a plate to catch any drips.
• Stir a little balsamic vinegar into remaining syrup and reduce.
• Serve tomato pieces with double cream and drizzle with the syrup.