SG Archives: Stuffed Tomatoes

All My Loving



Memories are funny things. A particular memory doesn't reside in a particular place in our brains, instead it exists as a collection of connections spread through our cortexes. The more a memory is used the less grounded it becomes in the context that gave rise to it and the more it comes an abstraction existing on its own.

Sometimes this is brought home to us when we happen to access a memory through an indirect connection. For instance, I was driving home from the market the other day with, among other things, a sack of tomatoes that had been sitting out in the sun. Because of this my car was filled with the scent of ripe tomatoes. The radio was on and the station played an old Beatles song — All My Loving. In a moment I was 11 years old, sitting at the kitchen table with my brothers and sister, and eating a stuffed tomato.

You've likely had that same near-out-of-body experience as though the past is overlaid on the present. Your very body feels odd — as though it doesn't quite fit.

In a moment I was 11 years old, sitting at the kitchen table with my brothers and sister, and eating a stuffed tomato.

It was a brief flash, but it left me hungry for a stuffed tomato such as I last ate when I was about that age. What I remembered most distinctly about that tomato was the taste of tomato, tuna, saltine crackers, and dill pickle. But I certainly couldn't leave even that rudimentary recipe alone…

Stuffed Tomatoes
Serves 4.

4 ea lg tomatoes — 3" diameter
1 ea 6oz can tuna
8 ea saltine crackers — crushed
1/4 c sliced scallions — sliced into 1/8" rounds
1/4 c diced green pepper
2 tbsp capers
1/4 c crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp feta brine
1/2 lemon — juiced
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Remove tomato tops and dice. Remove pulp from tomatoes, discard seeds, and dice flesh.

Mix diced tomato and all other ingredients in a bowl and allow flavors to meld for at least an hour.

Salt interiors of tomatoes and stuff with tuna mixture.

Note: I strongly recommend tuna packed in olive oil instead of water. It tastes far better.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | tomatoes | salad

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Greek Caprese Salad

Variation on a Classic



The Italian Insalata Caprese is a tomato salad that originated on the island of Capri. It consists of sliced tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, and olive oil. It's absolutely delicious and well-deserving of its fame. But I like a Greek version of the salad that I make better - in fact it's my standard lunch during tomato season.

Recipe here...

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | cooking for two | salad | tomatoes

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Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

So Good it Hurts



Tomato season is in full blossom here in Tennessee, in fact Grainger County will hold it's annual Tomato Festival the last weekend in July. This event is famous for the Tomato Wars where participants pelt each other with tomatoes. Frankly, I think Grainger County tomatoes are over-rated and throwing them at each other is the best thing to do with them.

I buy a half dozen or so tomatoes every week at the farmers' market where I have a choice of heirloom varieties from Cherokee Purple (which looks as thought it's been bludgeoned to death) to Green Zebra (a near perfect blend of acid and sweetness) and Blondkopfchen (a delicious cheery tomato for snacking). I usually celebrate the beginning of the season with a BLT — or three — then it's on to making gazpacho, my version on Insalata Caprese (using feta), and of course tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad.

I buy a half dozen or so tomatoes every week at the farmers' market where I have a choice of heirloom varieties from Cherokee Purple to Green Zebra and Blondkopfchen.

But eventually I get around to cooking some tomatoes and one of my favorite ways is slow roasting. This really concentrates the flavors and is a great side dish (and, in fact, if you can find a half-way decent tomato in the winter, slow-roasting will make it edible). Very simple to prepare but time-consuming to cook so it's best reserved for a weekend if you work.

Slow-roasted Tomatoes
Serves 4.

2 tomatoes
4 tsp sherry or balsamic vinegar
4 tsp olive oil
2 tsp dried thyme
Sea salt

Heat oven to 250 and line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Slice tomatoes in half, top to bottom and notch out stem. Arrange, cut side up, on the baking sheet and prick cut side with a fork, being careful not to pierce the skin.

Drizzle each tomato half with a teaspoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme and salt to taste. Roast in center of oven for 4 hours.

Try Slow-roasted Tomatoes with...
Paella
Chicken Saltimbocca
Austrian Pork Chops

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | side dish | tomatoes

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Wordless Wednesday

Try these recipes...
Fried Green Tomatoes
Garlic/Tomato Soup

Technorati: Food | photo | kevin d weeks | seriously good | tomatoes

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SG Archive: Gazpacho

Liquid Summer



I don't recall the first time I tasted gazpacho. My mother has been making it since I was a kid in the 60s — and perhaps longer than that. Neither do I have any idea how many versions of it I've had, but it's almost always at least good whatever the recipe. I've also had a cold tomato soup that, although delicious, was definitely not gazpacho. I'm still unsure what it was that made the cold tomato soup so distinctly different from gazpacho.

I had gazpacho twice when I was in Spain and the two versions couldn't have been more different — although both were good. The origin of the soup does seem to have some general agreement. The original soup was a common base for many modern dishes found throughout Europe. It likely consisted of stale bread, mixed with oil, vinegar, and vegetables. Gazpacho, though, seems somewhat unusual in its evolution because it's uncooked and it's a soup instead of a salad.

The best gazpachos are made of vegetables picked and used at the height of the season.

The best gazpachos are made of vegetables picked and used at the height of the season. And, served immediately, they are very good. But I think the best gazpachos, although made with absolutely fresh ingredients, are even better when allowed to age for at least 24 hours to enable those incredibly fresh flavors to meld and to take on some of the flavor of the bread. With good bread the soup has a hint of yeastiness adding depth and complexity to the flavor. That yeastiness requires some age to develop.

Many recipes call for stock, but (and this is regarded by many as my worst offense) I like using V8 Juice as the base liquid.

One last comment: please use a Spanish olive oil. It really makes a difference.

Gazpacho
Serves 8.

6 ea fresh tomatoes — peeled, seeded, & diced
1 ea green pepper — diced
1 bunch green onions — cut into 1/2" lengths, white and 1/2 greens
2 cloves garlic — crushed
1 ea medium cucumber — peeled, seeded, & diced
1 ea lemon — juiced
8 ea large basil leaves — chopped
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
6 c V-8
1 c fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp anchovy paste
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
salt to taste

Place half the veggies, half the crackers, half the olive oil, and one and a half cups of V8 juice in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat for remaining veggies.

Add all remaining ingredients and chill for at least six hours. Adjust the seasonings.

Try Gazpacho with...
Country Ham Panini
Ultimate Grilled Cheese
Schawarma

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | soup | tomatoes

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Tomatoes Parmigiano

Tomato Traditions



Once tomato season starts there's a collection of recipes that I need to make before I start experimenting with new recipes. First on the list is a BLT — one of my four most-favorite sandwiches. Then I have to make a batch of Gazpacho because it's just not summer without a few cups of that most delicious chilled Spanish soup. And for much of tomato season my standard lunch is a Greek take on Insalata Caprese (a dish that barely merits the title of "recipe") using feta instead of mozzarella and adding lemon juice. And finally I make Tomato Parmigiano.

My quick version of Tomato Parmigiano hardly deserves to be called a recipe, but it's so good that if you haven't ever done it you should make it tonight.

My quick version of Tomato Parmigiano hardly deserves to be called a recipe, but it's so good that if you haven't ever done it you should make it tonight. All you need is a small tomato for each person, a bit of thyme, oregano, or basil, and some genuine Parmigiano Reggiano (do not use anything but genuine Parmigiano). By the way, a toaster oven works great for these.

Tomato Parmigiano
Serves 4.

2 sm (3" diameter) tomatoes
4 tsp chopped fresh thyme, oregano or basil
1 tbsp sea salt
1 oz shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

Slice tomatoes in half, top to bottom, and cut out stem. Place halves cut side up on a baking sheet sprinkle with a bit of salt, chopped herbs, and cheese. Bake for at 375 until cheese browns &mdash about 10 minutes in a toaster oven.

Try these tomatoes with...
Veal with Artichokes
Kofta
Pork Empanada

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | tomatoes | side dish

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Garlic/Tomato Soup

So Much Food, So Little Time



I eat approximately 730 meals a year, 365 lunches and 365 dinners (breakfast is usually just yogurt and a banana). On the face of it this is 730 opportunities to cook, but it isn't really. I seldom cook lunch, which generally consists of either a sandwich or leftovers or fruit and cheese, so that cuts the opportunities approximately in half.

Then there's the fact that much of what I cook does produce leftovers - you can't really make beef daube for one from scratch, nor would you want to because meals like beef daube are always better on the second or third day. I figure I have leftovers for supper about four nights a week and if I factor in the times I pick up a steak-in-a-sack at the local deli, order out for pizza, or have dinner with friends or family then I'm preparing only about 130 meals to prepare from scratch each year.

Given my various cooking obligations I really do need to make an effort to try out about 100 new dishes a year.

Of those, I'd estimate around 30 are old favorites that I eat about once a year: mac-n-cheese, corned beef and cabbage, spaghetti marinara, and so on. So now I'm down to an opportunity to cook about 100 new dishes a year - and given my obligations I really do need to make an effort to try out about 100 new dishes a year, which makes repeating something I liked unusual.

A couple of summers ago I made a Tomato/Garlic soup for a class on soups and really liked the way it turned out. Lately I've had a strong urge to eat it again. It's best with fresh tomatoes in season, but this time I used canned tomatoes. The garlic is added in two lots here to get two different flavor intensities. The first amount is sautéed with other vegetables at the beginning of the recipe in good Italian or Spanish fashion. The second goes in near the end to provide more bite. The tomatoes provide most of the liquid.

Garlic/Tomato Soup
Serves 4 - 6.
Adapted from a recipe by Barbara Kafka’s Soup: A Way of Life.

1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
10 - 12 cloves garlic — smashed, peeled, and coarsely chopped
1 med red bell pepper — seeded and diced
1/2 c olive oil
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp basil — finely chopped plus additional basil, chiffonade, for garnish
2 tsp coarse salt, or to taste
2 c chicken stock freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Drain the tomatoes (reserving liquid).

Sauté the bell pepper and 2/3 of the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add drained tomatoes, increase heat to medium-high and cook five minutes longer. Add sautéed vegetables, herbs, and remaining garlic to a food processor along with reserved tomato juice. Pulse several time until slightly coarse.

Return tomato mix to a sauce pan, add chicken stock, salt, and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.

Place a round of lightly toasted coarse bread in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup into bowl, and top with basil chiffonade.

Try this Tomato/Garlic soup with...
Cheese Quick Bread
Mortadella Sandwich (Sao Paulo)
Tuna & Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | soup | tomatoes

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Fried Green Tomatoes

And the Living is Easy



In 1968 I didn't get arrested for skinny-dipping. It was a near thing. It was August and some friends and I were at an anti-Vietnam war rally and when the heat got to be too much we decided to take a dip in the fountain featuring Europa and the Bull on the Humanities Plaza at the University of Tennessee. I don’t recall who suggested skinny-dipping (as opposed to just getting our clothes wet) but we'd only begun to strip down when the campus cops showed up. They ran us off so we headed off to a secluded spot on the Clinch river and skinny-dipped there.

To this day I don't know why we got a break. At least one of us was already "nekkit" and Knoxville, Tennessee wasn't exactly a liberal town. I can think of reasons, but the only one that seems to be possible is we were obviously under-age by a couple of years and the cops had soft hearts.

If you've never been skinny dipping, I recommend that too.

Despite stereotypes to the contrary, Southerners are, or once were (before they became more like the rest of the country), kind and generous people. There's a crusty edge you have to pass, and once past that you might find a hard, and even bitter core, or a soft and sweet one. The trick is, you can almost always find a soft and sweet core if you know the technique:

• Hunker down — this is a squatting position that easily enables drawing in the dirt with your finger, the uptown version is asking them out to a Barbeque joint


• Ask about local fishing and hunting — these days talking about stocks also works, but be prepared to actually have to talk about hunting and fishing


• Talk about the weather — talk about the weather


• Offer vittals — Barbeque again or a meat-n-three


• Say, "How's about them..." — and fill in the name of the local college football team

There is a dish that perfectly sums up this Southern heart: fried green tomatoes.

These belles of Southern cuisine have a light crisp crust, a tender (but al dente) bite, and a flavor that makes it clear the tomato really is a fruit and not vegetable. They're as easy to do well as do poorly, which is a lot like fitting into the South.

Fried Green Tomatoes
Serves 4.

4 green tomatoes (no hint of blush, pure green and 3 - 4 inches in diameter)
enough oil to fill a cast iron skillet to 1/4 inch depth
1 1/2 c cornmeal
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp hot paprika
1 1/2 c cultured buttermilk

Heat oven to 200F and line an oven-proof plate with several layers of paper towels.

Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices discarding top and bottom slices.

Mix cornmeal and spices in a pie pan. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Pour buttermilk into another pie pan. Dip the tomato slices in buttermilk then dredge in cornmeal. Cook in oil until browned — about 2 minutes — turn and cook until brown. Remove to the paper-towel-lined plate and keep warm in the oven while repeating for remaining slices.

Once cooked, serve, especially with pork.

If you've never had a fried green tomato, you haven’t lived. It's an extraordinary vegetable and quite different from ripe tomatoes with a wonderfully complex acidity. The tomatoes in the photo are topped with a smoked tomato sauce my mother made.

And if you've never been skinny dipping, I recommend that too. The last time I did so, almost exactly 20 years after the first time, the park police caught us, and then ignored us. The evening turned out very nicely.

Technorati: Food | recipe | tomatoes | green tomatoes | side dish

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