Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Wash and dry tomatoes.

Cut tops off 3 tomatoes to remove stem.

Press juice and pulp from these tomatoes into a bowl.

Thickly slice the remaining tomatoes and remove more pulp into the bowl.

Grease an oven dish with olive oil and pack tomato slices close together.

Sprinkle tomato slices with sugar, sea salt, and olive oil.

Clean and slice red onion into thick wedges or slices.

Place onion slices in a greased oven dish and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, salt, and olive oil.

Roast tomato and onion slices in the preheated oven for at least one hour until slightly dried out.

Add Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and Tabasco (optional) to the reserved tomato juice/pulp.

Sprinkle gelatin over the tomato juice mixture in a small pot.

Heat gently, stirring, until gelatin melts and remove from heat.

Grease ramekins or molds and pour the tomato pulp mixture into them.

Refrigerate the tomato gelatin molds.

Check on the roasting vegetables; they are done when the tomato slices begin to catch at the edges and the onion slices are softened and slightly roasted.

Remove roasted vegetables from oven and let cool.

Peel and chop the remaining tomatoes.

Clean and finely chop the shallot; mix with the chopped tomatoes.

Season the tomato-shallot mixture with salt and pepper.

Cut mozzarella into bite-sized pieces.

Mix pesto with olive oil and pour over the mozzarella, then sprinkle with salt.

Arrange roasted tomato slices along the edge of a platter.

Arrange the mozzarella, chopped tomatoes with shallot, and roasted red onion slices on the platter.

Unmold the tomato gelatin from the fridge and add to the platter.

Garnish with fresh basil (optional).

Sprinkle the salad lightly with a French vinaigrette.

Serve with fresh country-style bread and chilled dry wine.