Préparation de la Mousse de Tomates

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy saucepan, about 1 quart / 1 litre
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Measuring jug
• •Hand whisk and flexible spatula
• •Digital scale accurate to 0.1 g, helpful for the gelatine
• •Four 120 ml ramekins or one 1½ to 2 cup / 355 to 475 ml mould

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare tomato pulp

   If starting with fresh tomatoes, score the skins, lower them into boiling water for about 20 seconds, and cool them immediately in cold water. Peel, halve crosswise, press out the seeds, and roughly chop the flesh. If using good canned whole tomatoes, drain them thoroughly, open them, and remove the seeds. Weigh the finished pulp after this trimming, because the book's half-pound proportion begins with clean tomato flesh, not whole fruit.

   The pulp must be well drained. Excess tomato water delays the butter from mingling with the flesh and leaves the finished mousse weakly flavoured.
2. 2

   Cook into the butter

   Melt the butter in a small heavy saucepan over gentle heat. Add the tomato pulp and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato has collapsed, its loose water has cooked away, and the butter no longer floats separately but glosses the pulp throughout. Do not brown it. If butter still pools at the edge, keep cooking gently; the tomato is still holding too much water. If the pan begins to catch, lower the heat and lift it away for a moment before scraping the bottom clean.

3. 3

   Dissolve the gelatine

   While the tomato cooks, put the cold prepared velouté in a small heatproof cup and sprinkle the powdered gelatine evenly over its surface. Leave it for 5 minutes to hydrate, then set the cup over gently simmering water and stir only until the gelatine has dissolved. If using a leaf, soften it in cold water for 5 minutes, squeeze it dry, and dissolve it in the gently warmed velouté. Never boil the mixture. Stir all the enriched velouté into the tomato once the butter and pulp have thoroughly mingled. If a few gelatine grains remain, don't add more; the sieve catches them in the next step. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Sieve and cool

   Push the warm mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring jug, pressing firmly with a flexible spatula and scraping the smooth purée from the underside. This sieve replaces the brigade's tammy, a fine cloth strainer, without changing the purpose of the step. Note the volume of the sieved base, then let it cool until almost cold and faintly thickened but still completely fluid, about 21°C or 70°F. Stir occasionally so the edges don't set first. If small gelled lumps appear, stand the jug briefly in warm water and stir until smooth, then cool it again.

5. 5

   Half-whip the cream

   Measure cold cream equal to exactly half the volume of the sieved tomato base; the listed half cup is an estimate, while the measured ratio governs. Reserve 1 tablespoon of that cream, then whisk the rest only until it thickens like pouring custard and a whisk mark disappears almost at once. It must not form peaks. If it begins holding its shape, whisk in the reserved liquid cream to relax it. Ça se rattrape. Firmly whipped cream makes the set mousse dry and woolly, while barely whipped cream keeps it supple and fresh on the palate.

   Use a hand whisk if you can. This small quantity passes from loose to overwhipped very quickly under electric beaters.
6. 6

   Fold and season

   Fold one-third of the barely whipped cream into the almost-cold tomato base to loosen it, then fold in the remainder with broad strokes until no pale streaks remain. Taste the mousse now, as the source directs. Add the lemon juice drop by drop, then enough salt to lift the tomato and only the smallest pinch of cayenne. If it tastes flat, correct the salt before adding more lemon; acidity cannot replace seasoning.

7. 7

   Mould and chill

   Immediately divide the mousse among four 120 ml ramekins or pour it into one mould holding 1½ to 2 cups. Tap the mould gently against a folded towel to settle hidden air pockets, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until tenderly set. Do not freeze it. Gelatine should give the mousse enough structure to unmould, not turn it into rubber.

8. 8

   Unmould and serve

   Dip the outside of each mould into warm water for 3 to 5 seconds, loosen only the upper edge with the tip of a thin knife, and invert onto a cold plate. If the mousse clings, return the mould to the warm water for 2 seconds and try again; it can be rescued. Serve cold with thin toast or crisp slices of baguette, letting the coral colour and satin surface stand without an unnecessary garnish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use deeply ripe tomatoes when they smell of tomato before you cut them. Outside their season, good canned whole tomatoes are the classical pantry's honest answer; drain them well and weigh the cleaned pulp rather than forcing pale fresh fruit into the dish.
• •The velouté must be a finished sauce, not plain stock. Its flour-bound body supports the tomato before the gelatine sets it, and replacing it with broth changes both the texture and the source formula.
• •The gelatine amount looks very small because eight leaves per quart of velouté becomes roughly one-quarter leaf in the two tablespoons used here. Weigh 0.6 g if your scale allows it. More gelatine produces a stiff slice rather than a delicate mousse.
• •Half-whipped means no peak at all. The cream should fall from the whisk in a thick ribbon and level itself quickly; stop there, even if every instinct tells you to give it another turn.
• •Serve the mousse with dry toast fingers or thin baguette slices and a bright, dry white wine. Keep the accompaniments plain, because the tomato, butter, and velouté have already done the work.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the mousse the day before serving and leave it covered in the cold overnight. The set becomes even and the flavour settles without losing freshness.
• •It can be kept covered and chilled for up to 48 hours. Unmould it shortly before serving so the surface remains smooth and the plate stays cold.
• •The tomato pulp may be peeled, seeded, weighed, and chilled several hours ahead. Cook it with the butter only when you're ready to complete the mousse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)