poached tomato bruschetta
with basil oil
- 6 ripe heirloom tomatoes
- 6 slices bread of your choice
Basil oil
- 100g basil leaves
- ½ cup (125ml) good-quality extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
To serve
- 6 x baby burrata or 3 x buffalo mozzarella, extra sea salt and cracked black pepper, and basil leaves
- To make the basil oil, heat a medium saucepan of water over high heat and bring to the boil. Fill a large bowl with iced water.
- Blanch the basil for 5 seconds and immediately refresh in the iced water. Allow to cool, then pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper.
- Place the basil leaves in a food processor with the oil and salt and blend until smooth.
- Place a sieve lined with muslin over a bowl and pour the mixture into the sieve. Allow to slowly strain. Discard any solids. Pour into a clean bottle or jar and refrigerate until chilled.
- Heat a saucepan of water over high heat and bring to a rapid simmer. Fill a large bowl with iced water.
- In batches, slice a cross in the base of each tomato and blanch for 2 minutes, then immediately refresh in the iced water. Allow to cool, then drain and peel the tomatoes. Set aside.
- Preheat a char-grill pan over high heat.
- Grill the bread slices for 1 minute on each side or until charred.
- Place the bread slices onto serving plates and drizzle with some of the basil oil. Top each with a tomato and squash slightly to cover the bread. Top with a baby burrata and drizzle with more basil oil. Sprinkle with extra salt and pepper and serve with basil leaves. Serves 6
Cook’s note:
You can store this in the fridge for up to 5 days.
© DONNA HAY GROUP
