MARRON WITH FERMENTED AND CONFIT TOMATO

Recipe by Head Chef, Dean Alsford – The Peak Restaurant, Spicers Peak Lodge, Maryvale, Queensland

Serves 4 as an entrée

Fermented tomatoes
2kg tomatoes, imperfects
60g salt
1g xanthan

One week in advance, chop 2kg of tomatoes and season with 60g of salt. Place in a sealed glass container and leave at room temperature for 1-3 weeks to ferment. Once fermented, blend and freeze. When fully frozen, transfer to a perforated tray lined with chux to slowly defrost. This will clarify the juice. Take clarified juice and blend in 1g of xanthan to thicken.
Store in sealed container and place in fridge for later use.

Confit tomatoes
12 cherry tomato, assorted colours
300ml olive oil

Heat oven to 130°C. With the cherry tomatoes, remove the eye and score the base with a sharp knife. Plunge into boiling water for 10 seconds then return to iced water to stop the cooking. Using a knife, gently remove the skins to retain shape. Place cherry tomatoes and olive oil onto a small oven tray, cover and place in oven to confit for 10 minutes until tomatoes are soft, but still have bite. Place in fridge to cool.

Dill oil
1 bunch dill
300ml canola oil

Place the dill and canola oil in thermomix or similar then blend on full speed at 60°C for 6 minutes. Pass through a muslin cloth, discard waste and retain oil in a sealed glass jar in the fridge.

Marron
4 whole marron, 150g, raw

With a twisting motion, remove the marron tails from the heads. Submerge the tails in boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove from water and refresh in iced water. Once cold, remove shell and digestive tract. Store in airtight container in fridge. Retain the shells and head for stocks etc.

To serve
Using a sharp knife, slice marron into 3 pieces and place in the centre of bowl. Lightly season with flaked salt. Place three cherry tomatoes next to marron. To ¼ the depth of the marron, pour the fermented tomato water into the bowl. Dress with droplets of dill oil.
Optional – Garnish with fresh herbs, flowers and few droplets of chilli oil.

Tip: Keep the remaining dill oil in the fridge for marinades, salad dressings, garnishing, pasta, soups and any dishes that call for fresh dill.

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