Читать книгу Bruce’s Cookbook - Bruce Poole - Страница 20

Petits pots de Provence, radishes and fleur de sel

I apologise for the rather self-conscious title of this dish – it is simply that I can’t think of another. It is basically and conceptually a lift from a very large, heavy and glossy cookery book by the great Burgundian chef Georges Blanc. The book was produced a good few years after the Nouvelle Cuisine craze and it is one I studied frequently as a novice with both awe and envy, as the impossibly beautiful photographs accompanying the recipes only served to put the food even further from my clumsy reach. I have adapted the recipe and it is definitely one for high summer, when tomatoes and other salad vegetables are at their best. The salad looks good layered, rather like a trifle, and served individually in small, ideally glass, ramekins. Perfect for a posh picnic.

Serves 4 as an elegant starter

4 large ripe plum tomatoes

4 fresh medium eggs

1 heaped tsp Mayonnaise

1 heaped tsp crème fraîche

salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g stoned black olives, preferably from Provence

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 dsp fine capers

8 anchovy fillets

good-quality olive oil

1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped

about 8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 big bunch of fresh, red breakfast radishes, washed and cut with 1cm of the green stalk still attached

sea salt flakes, preferably the softer fleur de sel

Blanch the tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for 10 seconds, then refresh in iced water or under a cold running tap. The skins should then come off easily. Quarter them, remove the pulp and discard or use elsewhere. Cut the tomato flesh neatly into 5mm dice. Reserve this concasse.

Hardboil the eggs by simmering for 10 minutes and refreshing under a running cold tap. Peel the eggs and chop. Put into a food processor with the mayonnaise and crème fraîche and blend briefly. This can be done by hand, if preferred, by mashing with a fork in a bowl. This will give a lumpier texture, which is different, but nice all the same. Season well with salt and pepper.

To make the tapenade, simply blend the olives with the garlic, capers and anchovies in a food processor, adding a steady trickle of olive oil until the consistency of a thin paste is achieved – it should not be too oily and runny, though. Adjust the seasoning. The anchovies will probably make it salty enough but some pepper will be a welcome addition.

Put the tomato concasse into a bowl with the shallot and basil. Season lightly (not forgetting the saltiness of the anchovies in the dish), add a moistening of olive oil and mix well.

To assemble the pots, first spoon the tomato concasse into the ramekins. Ensuring each layer is as level as can be, add the tapenade, then the egg mayonnaise and a few dressed leaves, if you like. It is better to have slightly less tapenade than the tomato and egg mixtures. These little pots do not really welcome accommodation in the fridge, as the flavours will deaden significantly – think Mediterranean room temperature here. The egg mayonnaise can be made beforehand, but once the dish is assembled, ideally it needs to be served straight away. If refrigeration is unavoidable, make sure that the pots are returned to room temperature before serving.

Place the chilled radishes on a separate white plate accompanied by a little container of the fleur de sel – the two go extremely well together. Aficionados eat the radishes by cutting them in half lengthways and introducing the moist white side directly to the fleur de sel. Alternatively, simply scoop up all three layers of the pot in a (possibly ungainly) spoonful, top with a radish and place the whole lot in your beak. This is the very essence of summer.