Clear tomato jelly with crab

Name: Clear tomato jelly with crab
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1.5 kg ripe tomatoes, halved; 1-2 tsp olive oil; 2 tsp chopped chives; 2 large shallots, roughly chopped; freshly ground white pepper; 1 large tomato, skinned, deseeded and cut into 5 mm dice; a few sprigs of basil; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 300 ml good-quality tomato juice; 3-4 gelatine leaves; ½ small avocado; 100 g freshly picked white crab meat; 2 small garlic cloves

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Fish etc.

By Mark Hix

Published 2004

About

This perfect light, summery starter may look as if it was quite complicated to make when it arrives at the table, but there is no real skill involved, save using the best and freshest of ingredients. You do, however, have to start the preparation the day before.

Ingredients

2 small garlic cloves
1.5 kg ripe tomatoes, halved
2 large shallots, roughly chop

Starter
Soup
Summer

Method

The day before you want to serve: blanch the garlic cloves in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain.
Coarsely blend the tomatoes, shallots, blanched garlic and basil in a food processor with some salt and freshly ground black pepper, and 250ml of the tomato juice.
Line a colander set over a large bowl with a double thickness of muslin, then with a clean tea