Tomato Water
By: Anonymous
Published: Friday, January 1, 2010 - 12:53am

Ingredients




4 pounds super-ripe heirloom tomatoes. Tomatoes ripe

Preparation

1 Dice the tomatoes into 1/4" dice.  Dice one or two tomatoes at a time, then put them in a bowl and use a bench scraper to capture all the juice from the board and put it into the bowl. 2 Line a strainer or sieve with three to four layers of cheesecloth and place it over a bowl.  Make sure you have shelf space in your refrigerator for the whole assembly. 3 Ladle the diced tomatoes from the bowl into cheesecloth. Do not push or pack them down. Their own weight will be sufficient to extract the water. 4 Pour any juice from the bowl over the top of the tomatoes. 5 Refrigerate for 24 hours. The bowl should fill with clear liquid.

About


Tomato water is an extremely interesting ingredient that can be used in a variety of ways. It is also a great way to use excess quantities of ripe tomatoes at the end of the season when your garden is full or markets have them on sale.  Tomato water's intense tomato flavor is completely unexpected given its clarity.
Try serving tomato water as a cool broth in the bottom of a shallow bowl of cold poached shellfish such as shrimp or langoustines and brunoise-sized cubes of English cucumber.
Tomato water can also be used in a fascinating drink I call the bloodless Mary. To make one, begin by infusing tomato water with fresh grated horseradish for 24 hours.  Lightly carbonate the infused tomato water with carbon dioxide in a standard seltzer bottle. Pour vodka over ice in a tall glass, fill with the tomato water and garnish with shredded horseradish and pearl onions on a cocktail skewer.