Tomato Salad with Essence of Tomato

I first had tomato water (essence) in a small restaurant in San Francisco probably close to fifteen years ago.  I still remember how good it was.  I found the recipe in Martha Stewart and decided I had to give it a try.  Her recipe called for mango but I didn't have one so I left it out and added some more tomatoes. It's easy to do but you need to start the tomato water at least 24 hours in advance.  It's a good use of ripe tomatoes.  Just be sure they haven't become over ripe.

Tomato Essence
1 pound ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
Coarse salt

Directions
1.  Puree tomatoes and 1/4 tsp salt in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute.
2.  Line a colander with 4 layers of dampened cheesecloth and set over a deep bowl or pot.
3.  Pour tomato puree into the colander, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate, stirring occasionally. until 1 to 2 cups of tomato water has dripped into the container, about 1 day.  Season with salt to taste.

Tomato Salad
Ingredients
1-2 chilled Kirby or Persian cucumber, cut into 1/4 inch thick half moons
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 red Thai or serrano chile, very thinly sliced
1 c Thai or Italian basil, roughly chopped
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 1/3 c tomato essence

Directions
1.  Toss cucumber, tomatoes, chile, chopped basil, and oil.  Season with salt and divide salad among 4 bowls.  Divide tomato essence among bowls, garnish with remaining basil and drizzle with more olive oil.