Technique: Tomato Concassé

Tomato concassé!

In a previous post, my solo breakfast, I used tomato concassé as a garnish. It is simply a tomato that has been peeled, seeded, and diced. When done right, you are rewarded with the best part of the tomato flesh, with no watery seeds, nor tough skin. It adds a nice finishing touch to any dish.

How do you go from this:

to this?

You start by scoring the bottom with a crosshatch.



Then removing the tough core.



Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, then the prepared tomato in for about 10 seconds.



Remove with a slotted spoon and dunk into ice water to prevent the tomato from cooking.



Peel with a small paring knife, and cut into wedges.

Remove all the seeds and center portion and reserve for another use.


Dice the tomato by cutting into strips, then cutting into small dice.



Now you have fancy tomato concassé. I worked at a restaurant straight out of culinary school that served a seasonal salad garnished with "tomato concassé", that wasn't. They claimed it was a "heirloom cherry tomato concassé", while it was really just plain cherry tomato halves. Although it was only served at lunch, it really kind of pissed me off to know that they were misleading the customer.

It is *that* kind of smoke-blowing that really chaps my hide...why all the snooty BS?!

Anyways, I'll get off my soapbox now. Enjoy your new garnish!