Budino di Pomodorini

We have been avoiding the F-word in our house this week. Things have been a little different during this year’s close season for football – because of the World Cup we have not had our usual six weeks of starvation (ie, no matches, no media coverage, a virtual footballing desert). Instead the sports pages have been awash with Rooney, Sven, Zidane et al, and we have not had to suffer the inevitable golf/speedway/rowing coverage that is the lot of sports pages when the F-game is not happening. This close season has been utterly sublime: matches on TV all the time, lots of Lineker, Hansen and co, and no sombre, leaden Sunday mornings after we’ve lost yet again. But this week holidays and the happy carefree weeks of the close season are coming to an end, and we are silently bracing ourselves, setting our faces like flint and gearing up to another F-season and the slings and arrows thereof. The phone is not ringing so as yet no exciting new strikers are forthcoming, and as our funds for said strikers are limited we simply have to soldier on as best we can. But like every football supporter we are eternally optimistic. On a brighter note the wildlife is continuing to thrive – the wild meadow flowers are blooming and as a consequence the bees and butterflies are in overdrive, and caught on camera at last is one of our extremely handsome hares (above left). The kitchen garden is bursting with produce and because we are now harvesting the first of our tomatoes (right), I am offering you a recipe we ate at my friend Rose Lloyd’s house in Provence last week – a delectably cool summer starter, perfect to serve in hot weather, which pays homage to the glorious flavour and simplicity of ripe tomatoes.

• Add to favourites
• Add to shopping list
• Email a friend
• Print

  Serves 6 as a starter

Ingredients
2¼ lb (1 kg) cherry tomatoes
a few basil leaves
a few sprigs of thyme
2 cloves of garlic, cut in half
4 leaves of gelatine
To serve:
30 tiny cherry tomatoes (or 15 larger ones, halved)
6 bocconcini (small rounds of buffalo mozzarella), sliced
a handful of basil leaves
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F, 180°C.

Conversions
Need help with conversions?

Equipment
You will also need 6 ramekins.

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.

• Bookmark with:
• Delicious
• Digg
• Facebook
• StumbleUpon