Tomato confit with steamed courgette flowers, fried tomatoes and basil sauce
A delicious way to make the most of British seasonal produce, right down to courgette flowers.
Ingredients
For the tomato confit
- 8 plum tomatoes, halved
- 1 orange, zest only
- 2 tbsp finely chopped basil stalks and leaves
- 250ml/3½fl oz olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 unwaxed lemon, zest only
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the steamed courgette flowers
- 1 tbsp green olives, pitted and chopped
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú goats' cheese
- 1 tsp chopped basil
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú Parmesan, grated
- 2 small courgette flowers
For the fried tomatoes and basil sauce
- 1 bunch basil
- 30g/1oz Parmesan, finely grated
- 3 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 150ml/5fl oz olive oil
- 1 tbsp self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp polenta
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 1 green tomato, sliced
To serve
- handful green cherry tomatoes, quartered
- drizzle olive oil
- drizzle sherry vinegar
- baby basil leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 120C/100C Fan/Gas ½.
To make the tomato confit, place the plum tomatoes on a roasting tray with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 4 hours, or until soft.
Meanwhile, to make the steamed courgette flowers, mix the olives with the goats' cheese, basil and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and stuff the courgette flowers. Twist the tips to contain the stuffing and steam for 6 minutes.
To make the fried tomatoes with basil sauce, in a food processor, blend the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts and garlic with 100ml/3½fl oz of olive oil to form a sauce.
Place the self-raising flour, polenta and cayenne pepper into a small bowl and mix well. Put the beaten egg in a separate bowl.
Dip each slice of tomato in the egg, coating well, then dip into the flour and polenta mixture, turning to coat.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the tomato slices for a few minutes on each side.
To serve, mix the halved cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil and sherry vinegar, spoon a few confit tomatoes onto each plate, add a steamed flower and a few fried tomato slices. Drizzle with the basil sauce and scatter over some baby basil leaves.