Tomato jellies with crab salad

Step 1

Place the tomato, eschalot, garlic, tomato juice, basil, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender and whiz until combined and finely chopped. Line a large sieve with a piece of muslin or a clean Chux and place over a large bowl, then pour in the tomato mixture. Place in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours to strain.

Step 2

Gently press tomato mixture with the back of a spoon to extract liquid – don’t press too hard or jellies will be cloudy – then measure out 3 cups (750ml) liquid. (If you don’t have enough, reduce the gelatine to 3 leaves.)

Step 3

Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes to soften.

Step 4

Place 1 cup (250ml) tomato liquid in a sauce pan over medium heat to warm through. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, then add gelatine to saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Remove from heat and stir through remaining 2 cups (500ml) tomato liquid. Pour into 6 serving glasses or dishes and chill overnight to set.

Step 5

The next day, for the crab salad, whisk ginger, sugar, oil and lime juice together until sugar dissolves. Peel and finely chop the cucumber, then toss with the crab, mint, chilli and dressing.

Step 6

To serve, pile the crab salad on top of the tomato jellies and garnish with basil.