Tomato Consommé
Equipment
- Food processor | I use a Magimix 4100
- Sieve
- Chinois
- Butter muslin
- Coffee filter papers
Ingredients
- 1 kilo tomatoes | roughly chopped
- 10 g banana shallot | finely chopped
- 5 g salt
To serve
- basil leaves
- balsamic pearls | Belazu brand
Instructions
Day 1 – morning
- Wash and dry the tomatoes. Chop them into approximately 1 cm pieces and put them, together with all the juice, into a stainless steel bowl.1 kilo tomatoes
- Add the finely chopped shallot and salt.10 g banana shallot, 5 g salt
- Fold the shallot and salt gently through the tomatoes until evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 12 hours. During this time the salt will draw liquid from the tomatoes, creating the first stage of the consommé.
Day 1 – evening
- Working in two batches, pulse each batch four times for about one second. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining tomatoes.The mixture should be very wet and juicy, roughly chopped and chunky, not smooth.
- Dampen and wring out two pieces of muslin and line the chinois with the muslin. Set the chinois in a sieve over bowl, ensuring the liquid can drip freely into the bowl without touching anything below.
- Clear space in the fridge.
- Spoon the tomato mixture into the muslin-lined chinois and refrigerate overnight. Leave it to drip naturally. Do not press or squeeze the tomatoes, as this will cloud the consommé. Gravity does the work.
Day 2 – morning
- The tomato consommé will be in the bowl. Carefully remove the chinois and sieve and tip the tomato pulp into a container for future use.
Examine the consommé
- The collected liquid should be clear to lightly golden. There might be a cloudy red sediment sitting below the clear liquid. Carefully pour just the clear consommé into a clean jug or container, leaving any sediment behind in the bowl.
Polish the sediment – optional
- To polish the cloudy red consommé, line the chinois with a dampened coffee filter paper and pour only this cloudy portion through it. The coffee filter removes the final traces of sediment but also slightly reduces flavour, so only filter the cloudy part this way. Filtering through the paper takes a long time, so perhaps don't polish it, and simply drink it!
Taste the clear consommé
- Taste and add more salt or a touch of sugar only if required. If the consommé genuinely tastes flat, add a tiny pinch of fine sea salt, stir and taste again.If it tastes a little too sharp, add only the smallest possible pinch of sugar, dissolve it thoroughly and taste again.
To serve
- Serve chilled. Place three balsamic pearls in the bottom of each glass, then carefully pour in the chilled consommé. Finish with a tiny basil leaf.basil leaves, balsamic pearls
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.
COPYRIGHT
© The Golden Polar Bear, 2026. Recipe and photography by Julia Savory. If you share it, please link back to thegoldenpolarbear.com.
Waste Less: How To Use Up Your Ingredient Stash!
Got something spare — a handful, a spoonful, or the end of a packet? These tags help you find other ways to use it. It’s a small step toward cooking intuitively and wasting less❣️
Next Steps?
You’ve got the full recipe — now take it further. Inside Black Labrador, you’ll find structured video courses and an ever-growing cookbook designed to help you cook with understanding, not guesswork. Learn, revisit, and deepen your skills at your own pace.
‘Totally recommend the cookery course. The meals are really tasty and full of flavour (not like most of the vegan mush I make for myself).’
Kerry B, Cumbria
