Health benefits of tomatoes, AARP-The magazine

Please check out my story on health benefits of delightful tomatoes in this article in this month’s AARP- The magazine. The story includes some really fun recipes and here is another one, one that is rather unusual. This one comes to you from my favorite chef, the incomparable Jose Andres.

Avocado with Tomato Sorbet By Jose Andres

Don’t be intimated if this recipe seems a tad long! It really isn’t a lot of work and this guacamole deconstructed will have your friends marveling at your culinary genius.  The sorbet and the onion oil can be prepared a day or two in advance. This is from Jose Andres’s minibar. I tested this recipe years ago for a magazine and fell in love with it. It is a fantastic take on chips and guacamole. I know you will love it as much as I do.

Photo here is courtesy of Jose Andres and his team at ThinkFood Group.

Serves 8

Ingredients

4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup tomato juice

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Juice of 1 lime

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

Onion Oil

1 small onion, diced

¼ cup olive oil

2 ripe Hass avocados

1 small lime

¼ teaspoon sea salt

8 Fritos corn chips, hand crushed

10 -12 Cilantro leaves

PREPARATION

Tomato Sorbet

Puree the tomatoes, tomato juice, Tabasco, lime juice, and oil with 1/2 cup water in a blender. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the solids. Season with the salt. Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturer’s directions. Store in the freezer.

Onion Oil

Combine the onion and oil in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the onions are very tender, about 10 minutes on medium low heat and then another 10 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Blend the mixture well.  Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small cup. Set aside.

Avocado

Cut avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop out flesh in one piece. Cut each avocado half lengthwise in half. Thinly slice each piece and fan out on the center of an individual serving plate. Spray with olive oil to prevent oxidation and cover with plastic wrap until needed.

To Finish

Cut the rind and membranes from the lime. Cut apart and dice the segments. Place lime dice on and around the avocado. Sprinkle with sea salt. Place a scoop of sorbet on top of the avocado (you can use a medium size ice-cream scoop). Drizzle with onion oil (a scant tablespoon per serving). Finish with a crumble of Fritos and some freshly ground pepper. Garnish with cilantro.