Tomato & Mirabelle dish

The tomato broth

• Cut the shallots in half and clean them. No do the same with the garlic.
• Then clean the overripe tomatoes and cut them in 2 or 3. Transfer them into a blender and also add the garlic, the shallot, the ginger syrup, the sushi vinegar, the black pepper and the star anise. Blend it till smooth.
• Once smooth pass it through a fine sieve and use a ladle to press out all the liquid. Keep both the solids and liquid.
• Then pour it on a sieve that’s lined with a clean kitchen cloth or paper. Let it drip overnight in your fridge.
• To finish the broth first let it reduce till you’re happy with the flavour. After that pass it through a fine sieve once more.
• Then bind the reduced broth. You can bind it with xanthan gum or potato starch. Just dissolve some potato starch in cold water and while stirring add it to the boiling broth. Do keep in mind that we serve the broth cold and once cold it will be even thicker.
• Then season with some salt, pour it into a jar and keep it in your fridge for later. 

The tomato oil

• Pour a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and pan fry the leftover tomato solids from before for a couple of minutes.
• Cover it with the neutral oil and let it infuse on the lowest heat for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
• Then pour it into a measuring jar and blend it for a minute. Blending it again makes such a big difference for the flavour and colour.
• Now pass it through a super fine sieve and let it drip overnight in your fridge. 

• Normally it’s made with yuzus, but here I make it with Amalfi lemons.
• Cut some green chilli’s in half and remove the seeds, just tap them on your board to easily remove them. Now cut them fine and weigh the total weight. I had 110 grams.
• Then add the lemon zest. I use a 60/40 ratio. So 110 grams of chilli’s with 73 grams of lemon zest.
• Also add 2% of salt, so that’s 3.66 grams. Now transfer it on your cutting board and chop it till your happy with the texture.
• If it feels dry also add a drizzle of lemon juice. Chop it once more and if needed add some more juice.
• Then transfer it into a preserving jar and press it well to ensure that there’s no trapped air. Close it up and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
• After that let it ferment in your fridge for 2 weeks. Once it’s done you can keep it in your fridge for a couple of months. 

• For this I use some very rip ones, just cut them all around the pit and remove them. Then transfer them into a pan.
• Cover the pan with a lid and let the mirabelle’s simmer on a low heat for at least 30 minutes.
• Once soft and cooked all the way through blend it till smooth.
• Normally my recipes are very precise, but with this one I always choose to make a base and taste it. The flavor can be so different depending on the quality of the ingredients. I did add a drizzle of sherry vinegar and a touch of salt.
• Now add 1 gram of agar for every 100 grams of base. This was 550 grams, so I added 5.5 grams of agar. Mix it well and then bring it to a boil for at least 30 seconds.
• Then pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge.
• Once cold transfer it into a blender and blend it into a smooth gel. Then transfer it into a piping bottle and keep it in your fridge for later. 

• Again take some Mirabelle’s, only this time ones that are not so ripe. Cut them around the pit and remove the pits. Cut each half in half once more and then in small pieces. Transfer them into a bowl.
• Then take the kosho and use it to season the Mirabelle. Also add some salt and gently fold it together. Now transfer it into a piping bag and keep it in your fridge for later. 

• Take some defrosted sourdough bread or an older sourdough bread and slice it in thin slices. They need to be around 2 millimeters thin.
• Now lay the slices on your cutting board and cut them to the desired size. I use a small round cutter. Then lay them on a silicon sheet and drizzle with some olive oil, salt and black pepper on top.
• Cover them with another sheet and bake them at 150 °C (302 °F) for around 25 minutes till golden brown.
• After that let them cool down and keep them dry and covered for later. 

The marinade

• Mix the water with the sushi vinegar, the white wine vinegar, the sugar, the peel from the lemon and the lime. Then cut them in half and add the juice from both the lemon and lime. Also add the clove of garlic that’s cut in half, the black pepper, the coriander seeds, the star anise, the cinnamon stick and the empty vanilla pod. Now bring this to a boil.
• Once it’s boiling pour it into a bowl and add the basil. Then let it cool down and infuse in your fridge for at least 3 hours. I leave it overnight. 
• Then pass the marinade through a fine sieve.

The cherry tomatoes

• Take the cherry tomatoes and remove the stems. Also make a little cross with a sharp thin knife. We do this so the skin gets loose faster for the next step.
• For that step first season some boiling water with salt and submerge a couple of the tomatoes for around 15 to 20 seconds.
• Then directly cool them down in ice water and leave them for at least a minute. By doing this you should be able to easily peel the skin off. Directly submerge the clean tomatoes in the marinade.
• I always dry the leftover tomato peels and blend them into a fine powder. The powder is so delicious and great to use as a seasoning or to mix with a dough for a bread or tartelette.
• Now let the cherry tomatoes marinade in your fridge for at least 1 hour.
• Once they’re marinaded cut a little bit of the top and scoop out the inside out. The seeds you can also keep or use for the broth we made earlier.
• Then take the kosho & Mirabelle filling and fill the tomatoes all the way. Keep them covered in your fridge for later.

• As a final prep take some small nasturtium leaves and cut them with a very small round cutter. The trimmings I use for an oil, very good! 
• Keep the portioned leaves covered in your fridge for later.

• Take a bowl and place 7 of the filled cherry tomatoes in a circle. Then pipe small dots of the Mirabelle gel in between and stick the sourdough crisps in there.
• Now place some Chinese leek flowers or chives flowers on top and also add a couple of basil flowers. Then place a nasturtium leaf on each tomato and it’s ready to be served!
• On the table you can finish the dish with that incredible vinaigrette. Just mix three parts of the broth with 1 part of the tomato oil and give it a gentle mix before serving a generous amount in the centre of the plate.