Tomato Whisper

Name: Tomato Whisper
Yield: Serves 6–8
Ingredients: 1 lb (450 g) tomatoes; a little oil for greasing; juice of 1 lemon; 1 large egg (size 1–2), separated; 3 large egg whites (size 1–2); ¼ pint (150 ml) double cream; 3 rounded tablespoons (4–6 x 15 ml spoon) mayonnaise (home-made or a good commercial kind); 1 teaspoon (5 ml spoon) caster sugar; 3–4 pinches of cayenne pepper; 3 heaped tablespoons (5–6 x 15 ml spoon) gelatine; 4 tablespoons (4 x 15 ml spoon) very hot water; salt and black pepper; a sprig of fresh basil leaves, to decorate; 3 rounded tablespoons (4–6 x 15 ml spoon) mayonnaise (home-made or a good commercial kind); a small handful of parsley, chopped finely; 10–15 fresh basil leaves, chopped finely; salt and black pepper

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

First Impressions

By Josceline Dimbleby

Published 1984

About

This is one of those dishes which seem to epitomise the phrase ‘melt in the mouth’. Two layers of an incredibly light tomato honeycomb mousse are sandwiched together with a creamy mayonnaise, which is speckled green with fresh basil and parsley.

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) tomatoes
juice of 1 lemon

Starter
Gluten-free

Method

Put the tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave them for a minute or two and then peel them and chop up into fairly small pieces. Put the lemon juice in a saucepan and add the tomatoes. Cover the pan and put over a medium heat for about 15 minutes until the tomatoes are completely mushy.

Meanwhile, line the base of 2 oiled 7–7½