At this time of year, not only is there usually a glut of tomatoes but with all the sunshine we’ve had, the flavour will be at its absolute best. So, this tomato and basil summer pudding I found in an old Clarissa Dickson-Wright book (half of the Two Fat Ladies team – this recipe is Jennifer’s) is a great idea if you’re looking for a new way to use them up. It needs to be made the day before you want to eat it; served chilled with some good quality Mozzarella and cold salami or bresaola it makes a great starter for four or a light lunch.
You will need…
- Light olive oil
- 8-10 slices of good quality white bread, crusts removed
- 1 Kg ripe tomatoes, skinned and deseeded
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 clove of garlic, grated
- A small bunch of basil leaves, torn
- juice of a half a lemon or a tablespoon of good quality sherry vinegar
To make…
- Lightly grease the pudding bowl with a little olive oil.
- Plunge the ripe tomatoes into a bowl of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Skin and remove the seeds, chop the tomatoes into small pieces and retain all the juices – you need them to soak into the bread.
- Mix the chopped tomatoes with the lemon juice or sherry vinegar, garlic and basil leaves and a dash of extra virgin olive oil – season with a little salt and pepper.
- Pour a pool of the tomato juice onto a flat dish and briefly dip each bread slice into it, then use them to line a small pudding basin. Make sure the slices overlap slightly and cover the base.
- Pour the mixture into the bread-lined basin, make a cover/lid with the remaining bread and seal. Put a flat plate over the pudding and weight it down – I use tins of tomatoes.
- Leave overnight in the fridge.
- To serve, run the blade of a knife around the edge and turn the pudding out onto a plate. Spoon any juices over the top of the pudding to soak into the bread.
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