Smoked Tomato Consommé With Poached Oysters, Bacon, Cucumbers & Tomatoes

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• For the Tomato Water:
• 18 large red tomatoes, cored and cut in half
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons salt
• For Poached Oysters:
• 8 fresh, small or medium size oysters, Beausoleil, James River or Rappahannock are good choices
• 2 cups tomato water, see recipe above
• To Serve (Garnish):
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked crispy
• 2 organic/heirloom cucumbers, peeled, small dice
• 1 1/2 pounds mixed heirloom tomatoes, some sliced, some diced, some whole if small
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup Thai basil, picked
• 1/4 cup mint, picked
• sea salt, to taste

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from ajc.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the Tomato Water:
Smoke the tomatoes in a covered grill or smoker at 90-100 degrees for about an hour. Transfer the tomatoes to a large mixing bowl with a few pinches of salt, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.

Fill a sauce pot, slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl, half way with water. Place on medium heat and set the bowl on top of the pot, double boiler style.

Steep the tomatoes for about 2 hours to allow them to release their liquid.

Remove the bowl and strain the tomato juice through several layers of cheesecloth to remove the solids and to produce a clear tomato water.

While still warm, pour the tomato water over the basil and mint, cover and allow to steep until room temp.

Strain out the herbs, season the water with salt and set aside.

For Poached Oysters:
Shuck the oysters and place them in a small bowl.

In a medium saucepan, bring the tomato water up to a simmer and pour over the oysters, allow to steep until room temp, approximately 15 minutes. Place the oysters, in the tomato water, in the fridge to cool. You may store them in this manner until ready to serve, up to 2 days.

To Serve:
Strain off the poaching liquid from the oysters. Place 2 oysters in each bowl.

Spoon a mixture of the tomatoes and cucumbers in the bowl with the oysters. Place a bit of each herb in the bowl. Pour in the consommé just to cover the garnish. Season with sea salt. Rest a slice of the crisp bacon on the rim of the bowl