We had this as a starter
in Madrid and it was one of the best dishes we ate while we were travelling.
Lynne was determined to make it here, so it was tonight’s supper. You do need
the ripest, most flavourful tomatoes you can find. If you don’t eat fish, you
might like to substitute the tuna with hard-boiled egg, or small aubergine or courgette cubes diced and
browned in olive oil
4 medium ripe
red tomatoes – 1 small tin of tuna in oil – ¼ cup of dry breadcrumbs – half a small
red pepper, finely chopped - 5 sprigs fresh parsley – 1 T fresh basil – black
pepper – 1 t sherry or wine vinegar - salt - Olive oil – 25g grated cheese
You should use Spanish Manchego
cheese but, as it is hard to find, use a mix of mature English cheddar* and
parmesan
Take off the tops of the
tomatoes and carefully scrape out the core and the seeds, leaving just the
outside body of the tomato (don’t throw the insides away; with the lids they
make a wonderful salsa or can be added to soups and stews)
Salt the inside of the
tomatoes and leave them turned upside down to drain for an hour. Throw away any
of the salty juice that comes out. Mix the breadcrumbs with the tuna, red
pepper and the herbs and add a teaspoon of olive oil. Season well and stuff the
mixture into the tomatoes, pushing it well in until they are full and come
right up to the top. Then add about a Tablespoon of the breadcrumbs to the
cheese and, pressing well down, put a thick cap of cheese on top of each
tomato
Put them into an ovenproof
dish which has a cover and put into a 180°C oven and
bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the cover and put the dish under a
grill until the cheese has a lovely brown crust on it. As with most
Mediterranean food, these tomatoes are best served lukewarm; they have more
flavour, so you can make them in advance. And you can, of course, double up the
recipe if you have more guests.
* We buy good English cheddar under the Wyke Farms
label at Checkers. It is very reasonably priced and has the proper “bite” which
is usually lacking in local cheddars
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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