Budino di Pomodorini

Our kitchen garden is bursting with produce and because we are now harvesting the first of our tomatoes, I am offering you a recipe we ate at my friend Rose Lloyd’s house in Provence – a delectably cool summer starter, perfect to serve in hot weather, which pays homage to the glorious flavour and simplicity of ripe tomatoes.

Method

Start off by placing the tomatoes in one layer in a roasting tin, tuck the herbs and garlic in amongst them and season with salt and pepper (note: there is no oil used for this).

Roast them for about 25-30 minutes until they are starting to burst. Next discard the herbs and garlic, then you can either put the roasted tomatoes through the medium disc of a mouli-légumes or (as I did) put them in a blender and whizz to a purée. If you use the blender you now need to press them through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Now soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of water for 5 minutes, and place the tomato mixture in a pan and heat gently (but do not boil). Squeeze the gelatine leaves, add them to the pan and stir until they have dissolved.

Then divide the mixture among 6 ramekins and pop them in the fridge to set.

To serve, dip the base of each ramekin in a bowl of very hot water, run a knife round the inside and turn out.

Decorate with tiny cherry tomatoes, basil leaves and either small slices of mozzarella or (if you can get them) some boconcini.