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George's Afternoon Tea
Recipe by George Calombaris
George presents his version of an Afternoon Tea, preparing Prawn Toast, and Compressed Watermelon served alongside Tomato Tea.
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Tomato Tea Base
Tomato Tea Foam
Compressed Watermelon
Prawn Toast
Tomato Tea with Aromatics
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Steps
- Place a food processor jug and an iSi gun jug (without lid on) into the freezer to pre-chill.
- For the Tomato Tea Base, line a sieve with damp muslin cloth. Sit the sieve over a large pot and set aside until needed.
- Place half of the tomatoes, shallots and basil into a food processor and purée until smooth. Season the purée with salt, then pour into the muslin lined sieve and allow the clear tomato liquid to drip through. Repeat this process with the remaining half of the tomatoes, shallots and basil. Set aside to allow the clear tomato liquid to slowly drip through and achieve 2 litres of clear tomato tea liquid, about 2 hours.
- To finish the Tomato Tea Base, add the bonito vinegar, rice wine vinegar and tobacco to the clear tomato tea liquid. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Measure out 500ml of the liquid into a clean saucepan and set aside for the Tomato Tea Foam. Transfer the remaining Tomato Tea Base liquid into a jug and set aside in the fridge until needed for the Tomato Tea with Aromatics.
- For the Tomato Tea Foam, place gelatine into iced water and set aside to soften.
- Place the saucepan of reserved 500ml Tomato Tea Base over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Squeeze out gelatine to remove excess water then stir in to the hot tomato tea base liquid until dissolved. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean jug and allow to cool slightly.
- Take the pre-chilled iSi gun from the freezer. Pour the cooled tomato-gelatine liquid into the gun, secure the lid, and set aside in the fridge until needed.
- For the Compressed Watermelon, place watermelon into a vacuum seal bag with the bonito vinegar and seal. Set aside to infuse for 1 hour.
- For the Prawn Toast, place the sliced bread into the freezer until ready to assemble.
- Place 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil and spring onions into a small frypan over low heat and cook gently until the spring onions have softened and become translucent. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool completely.
- Place 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil into a small frypan with the shallots over low heat and gently sauté until translucent. Add the bonito vinegar and caster sugar and continue to cook, stirring, until reduced and liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and set aside to cool completely.
- Fill a large bowl with iced water. Set a second bowl over the iced water and set aside until needed.
- Take the pre-chilled food processor bowl from the freezer and set up on the food processor base. Add 400g of the raw king prawn meat, egg whites, salt and blitz until smooth. Add the tarragon leaves and lemon zest and blitz until combined.
- Transfer the prawn-tarragon mixture to the bowl set over an ice bath. Dice the remaining 200g raw king prawn meat and stir through the cooling prawn mixture until fully incorporated. Add the cooled cooked spring onions and shallots and stir until well combined.
- Take the frozen white bread slices from the freezer. Spread the prawn mixture over the entire surface of each slice of bread to approximately 1cm thick
- Lay the flaked almonds across the layer of prawn mixture to create a ‘fish scale’ pattern.
- To finish the Prawn Toast, heat some of the clarified butter in a medium frypan over medium heat. Add the prawn toast, almond side down, and gently cook until golden. Gently flip and cook on the other side until golden, and prawns are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel immediately to remove excess oil. Repeat with remaining slices.
- Trim the shorter ends from the piece of prawn toast to neaten. Cut the prawn toast widthways into fingers.
- To finish the Tomato Tea with Aromatics, fill the tea plunger jug with ice and add the ouzo. Gently swirl the jug so that the ouzo coats the inside then pour out. Add the reserved Tomato Tea Base to the plunger. Add the fresh basil, star anise, thyme, tarragon and lemon balm. Secure the plunger lid and allow to infuse for 4 minutes.
- Charge the iSi gun of Tomato Tea Foam twice and shake well.
- To serve, gently plunge the infused Tomato Tea with Aromatics and divide between 6 small tea cups. Finish with some of the Tomato Tea Foam and a sprinkle of dehydrated tomato powder.
- Remove the Compressed Watermelon from the bag and drain to remove excess liquid. Cut watermelon into 6 even wedges. Sprinkle wedges with toasted sesame seeds and serve on crushed ice.
