And the tomato concasse is an easy, useful technique to have in your back pocket; the procedure involves boiling scored tomatoes in water before being peeled, seeded and then roughly chopped, with a simple end result that can be served alone or applied to a variety of dishes.
Tomato concasse can be used as the base for tomato sauce, served atop crusty bread for bruschetta, or added to the decadent Béarnaise sauce for a sauce Choron.
Eric Ripert, chef/owner of the three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin in New York City, beefs up his tomato compote by adding tomato concasse for his elevated take on a crab cake.
Below, Ripert’s recipe that can easily be made at home:
Recipe courtesy of Eric Ripert, chef/co-owner of Le Bernardin, NYC
Ingredients
2 beefsteak tomatoes
Method
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Score the tomatoes, blanch them for 30 seconds to loosen the skin and immediately shock in cold water; peel off the skin with a paring knife, slice through the equator and remove the seeds. Cut the tomatoes into an even dice.