Tomato gazpacho and garden salad

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Colin McGurran's molecular tomato gazpacho recipe may look innocent enough, but don't be fooled: the tomato in the centre of the plate is in fact a set gazpacho 'mousse' dipped in a glossy tomato gel coating. Keeping with classic flavour combinations, Colin pairs the tomato gazpacho with pea purée and a beautifully fresh beetroot and lemon dressing.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Tomato gazpacho

Tomato skin gel

Beetroot and lemon dressing

Olive soil

  • 100g of dried olives
  • 100g of muscovado sugar

Horseradish cream

  • 250g of double cream
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 3g of sea salt
  • 30g of horseradish sauce

Compressed cucumber

Nori dressing

Pea purée

Equipment

  • Muslin cloth
  • Vacuum bag and machine
  • Vitaprep
  • Chinois

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 70°C
2
For the tomato gazpacho, mix all the ingredients, except the egg white powder and gelatine leaves, together on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 1 and 1/2 hours
3
Remove from the oven and blend all of the ingredients in a Vitamix for 1 minute. Chill for 24 hours, then pass through a chinois
4
Take 1 litre of the gazpacho mix and bring to the boil
5
Measure out a 200ml portion of the hot gazpacho, add the gelatine and heat gently to dissolve. Allow to cool to about 50°C
  • 6 gelatine leaves, bloomed
6
Using a fine sieve, sift the egg powder into the 200ml of gazpacho mix and whisk until dissolved
7
Mix both gazpacho mixes together and chill until set
8
Remove the chilled mix from the fridge and, using a kitchenaid, blend until you are left with a mousse consistency. Weigh out 35g portions and wrap each portion in cling film, then hang in the freezer until completely frozen
9
For the tomato skin gel, mix all the ingredients together, bring to the boil then blend in a Vitamix. Wrap in muslin cloth and suspend over a bowl in the fridge
10
Unwrap the 35g portions of tomato gazpacho and, using a cocktail stick, dip into the hot tomato skin gel. Repeat this 4 times after each layer has set to create a thick, glossy finish. Remove the cocktail stick and replace with a real tomato stalk. Leave to defrost and keep in fridge for up to 24 hours
11
For the beetroot and lemon dressing, mix all of the ingredients together and keep in vac pac bag. Transfer to a squeezy bottle when ready to serve
12
To make the olive soil, blitz both ingredients into a rough powder consistency then store in a container until needed
  • 100g of dried olives
  • 100g of muscovado sugar
13
For the pea purée, combine all of the ingredients and seal in a vac pac bag. Cook in a steam oven at 100°C for 15 minutes
14
Remove the contents and blitz for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Chill and set aside until required
15
For the horseradish cream, mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until slightly under-whipped, then set aside
  • 30g of horseradish sauce
  • 3g of sea salt
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 250g of double cream
16
For the nori dressing, crumble the nori into a bowl and whisk together with the rest of the ingredients
17
For the compressed cucumber, peel and slice the cucumber into 1cm slices and place the slices flat in a vac pac bag with the nori dressing. Just before serving, halve the slices
18
Garnish with a smear of the pea purée, horseradish cream, olive soil, bread crisp, baby radish, micro basil, fresh peas, pea shoots, pea flowers, compressed cucumber and garden leaves. Serve immediately
First published in 2015

Colin McGurran began his career with a burning ambition to own a red Mercedes. Almost 20 years on and he has fulfilled that ambition and much more besides.

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