Tomato bounty: The Boccontini

I got the original recipe from Wil Edwards, a cheesemaking teacher.  He showed it to us as something to do with our 30-minute Mozzarella.  Of course, I've made a few changes.

Ingredients, per boccontini:

• 2 medium-large premium tomatoes (heirloom, home-grown or vine-ripe)
• 5-10 fresh basil leaves
• 4-7 small fresh mozzarella balls (bocconcini)
• 5-9 cherry tomatoes
• salt & pepper
• optional: 1 shot Pernod, vodka, gin, or similar booze
• optional: premium olive oil, possibly flavored
• 1 giant martini glass
• 1-2 bamboo skewers or similar
• equipment: large pot, large bowl, chinois, large pestle, tongs, very sharp knife

First, peel the tomatoes: Boil water in the large pot.  Fill the large bowl with cold water. Cut an "X" in the skin on the bottom of each tomato.  Drop the tomato in the boiling water for 40 seconds, then into the cold water.  Core with a knife and peel with your hands.

Second, extract the juice from each tomato.  Empty the bowl, and put the chinois into it.  Drop one tomato at a time into the chinois and break up the tomato with your fingers (this is the fun part). 

Mash the tomato pulp with the pestle until all its juice has gone out through the chinois.  Do the next tomato.  Periodically empty the chinois of tomato pulp and seeds.

Make the skewers: on each put a series of cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, and bocconcini balls or slices.  Begin & end with a cherry tomato.  Put a basil leaf anchored by some mozzarella at the bottom of each glass, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Decide if you're giving each diner one or two skewers. I prefer two.  Put the skewers in the glasses.

Put the shot of booze, if using, in each glass.  Ladle in the tomato juice until full.  Optionally drizzle on the olive oil, and definitiely add salt and pepper.  Serve to great acclaim.

If you don't have giant martini glasses, you can use large wine glasses, or even wide tumblers or pint glasses.  It doesn't look as cool, though.