SPICED TOMATO COOLER WITH HERB SALAD AND GOAT-CHEESE TOASTS

Spiced Tomato Cooler With Herb Salad and Goat-Cheese Toasts image

Provided by Amanda Hesser

Time 20m

Yield Serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 22

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons sweet paprika
Large pinch of cayenne pepper
19 ounces ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 teaspoon Maldon or other sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus 4 small lemon slivers for serving
Dash of Angostura bitters
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs cilantro
1 heaped tablespoon black pumpkin seeds or pepitas
1/2 cup roughly sliced celery with leaves preferably inner stalks
3 handfuls mixed watercress and arugula, roughly torn
1 scallion, roughly chopped
1/2 smallish cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 cup packed roughly chopped cilantro, plus a few sprigs for the drink and garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons red-wine or sherry vinegar
8 small slices country bread, toasted
3 tablespoons soft, creamy goat cheese

Steps:

In a small sauté pan over medium heat, toast the pumpkin seeds or pepitas with a little salt to just heat through and color a bit. Set aside for the salad.
In the same pan, heat the oil with the garlic clove and the cumin, paprika and cayenne, stirring until it smells spicy. Take care not to burn. Set aside.
Pass the tomatoes through the medium plate of a food mill set over a nonreactive bowl. (If you don't have a food mill, use a cheese grater.) Add 1/4 cup cold water.
Scrape the spices and oil into the tomato purée, discarding the garlic. Stir in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, Angostura bitters, Worcestershire sauce and cilantro sprigs. Taste for seasoning, cover and refrigerate.
Assemble the salad: Put the sautéed pumpkin seeds, celery, watercress and arugula, scallion, cucumber and cilantro into a bowl. Dress with the oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss lightly.
Divide the salad among 4 plates, with 2 toasts on each. Gently spoon a teaspoon or so of goat cheese onto each toast. Divide the tomato juice (discarding the cilantro stems) among 4 tumblers. Add a sliver of lemon, a couple of ice cubes, a grind of black pepper and a sprig of cilantro over each and serve.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 266, UnsaturatedFat 9 grams, Carbohydrate 31 grams, Fat 13 grams, Fiber 5 grams, Protein 9 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 645 milligrams, Sugar 7 grams, TransFat 0 grams