Recipe of the week: Tomato tartar

A Swiss dish with a Mediterranean flair, tomato tartar is inspired by the flavors found around Lake Maggiore, which borders both Switzerland and Italy. While most people think of a heavy cheese fondue, pasta or pizza when hearing about Swiss or Italian food, tomato tartar is a refreshing and light vegetarian option.

This recipe uses four different kinds of tomatoes (Ramati, Datterini, San Marzano and cherry), fresh basil, shallots, fennel, carrots, mushrooms and other herbs such as tarragon. It can be recreated at home, somewhat easily, giving everyone the opportunity to eat like they’re at a high-end restaurant in Europe.

The slow cooking of the tomatoes in the oven gives the dish the texture of a traditional tartar and lets the flavors of the vegetables come through in a unique and unusual way. For those who want to make the dish vegan, it’s very simple to substitute the sour cream for coconut milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock. If vermouth isn’t on hand, feel free to substitute for white wine vinegar instead as it tastes similar to dry vermouth. And, if sunflower or lemon oil aren’t on hand they can be substituted for olive oil and lemon zest, respectively.

Leftover, unused tomato stock can be saved to be used at a later time as it makes a great base for soups, such as creamy tomato or chicken tortilla soup. And, any extra avocado basil cream and basil mayonnaise can also be saved to be used on sandwiches or wraps.

Ingredients

Tartar

5 Ramati tomatoes
5 Datterini tomatoes
3 San Marzano tomatoes
10 cherry tomatoes

Tomato cream

30 cherry tomatoes
Basil mayonnaise
1 cup basil
4 tablespoons soy milk
1 cup sunflower oil

Tomato stock

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
8 cups tomato stock
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Nolly Prat (Vermouth)
1 cup carrots
1/2 cup shallots
1/2 cup fennel
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
10 mushrooms
1 garlic bulb
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon tarragon

Avocado basil cream

1 cup basil
1 1/2 cup avocado
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lime
1 teaspoon lemon oil

Directions

To make the tartar, carve the Ramati and San Marzano tomatoes and blanch in salted water for 10 seconds. Rinse in ice water and remove skin. Then season with salt, pepper, garlic and basil leaves. Dry in the oven at 175F for two hours. While that is drying, combine all stock ingredients in a pot and cook on the stove until it is reduced by half. After the tomatoes are done drying and the stock is reduced, remove the skin from the Datterini tomatoes and get the 10 cherry tomatoes. Cut everything into small cubes.

To make the tomato cream, cut the 30 cherry tomatoes in half and braise very slowly in a pot until there is no more liquid. Then, mix with a blender. For the basil mayo, mix all ingredients in a food processor and strain. For the avocado basil cream, mix all ingredients until creamy.

Arrange the tomato tartar in a dish and decorate with the tomato cream, basil mayo, avocado basil cream, and fresh basil leaves to your liking. Pour the tomato stock in the bottom of the dish as a base.

Thank you to Chef Marco Campanella from Restaurant La Brezza at Hotel Eden Roc for the recipe.

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