Stuffed Tomatoes

Tomatoes

1. Stuffed tomatoes with salad are quick to make, and there is nothing exotic in them. This appetizer is perfect for a light breakfast, especially when you have no time to cook. The tomatoes must be large and ripe enough, yet not release a lot of juice. The filling ingredients need no cooking, but they must be perfectly fresh.

2. Prepare the tomatoes: cut off the “lid” from the tomatoes, at the stem end.

   

   Scoop out all the flesh with a spoon to leave a hollow shell for the filling. Don’t throw the flesh away, it goes into the filling. Let the juice drain and dry the inside of the tomatoes with a paper towel.

Dressing

1. For the salad dressing it’s best to use thick sour cream or a very soft, almost creamy cream cheese. In the Balkans stuffed tomatoes are often made with fermented dairy products, but they contain a lot of liquid and the filling ends up “floating”. If you like mayonnaise or mayonnaise-based dressings, you can happily use it instead of the sour cream.

2. Marinate the finely chopped onion in 1 tbsp of wine vinegar ahead of time. 10 mins is enough.

3. Make the dressing: peel one cucumber and chop it very finely. Finely chop the garlic. Mix the sour cream with the cucumber, pickled onion and garlic. Season with salt and black pepper and stir.

   

Filling

1. For some heat, you can add a little very finely chopped chili. The filling is also very tasty with fried walnuts and cilantro. Brynza or feta can easily be replaced with soft cottage cheese, ricotta or mozzarella.

2. Chop the vegetables: dice the remaining cucumbers, about the size you’d cut for Olivier salad. Remove any leftover seeds from the tomato flesh and dice it too. Slice the green onion stalks.

4. Dice the brynza, slightly larger.

   By the way, feta works well too and tastes very good. Just keep in mind that it is softer.

   

5. In a bowl, gently mix the filling and the dressing so as not to break the cubes of cheese or cause the tomato flesh to release too much juice.

Stuffing

1. Stuff the tomatoes. If the prepared tomatoes are still leaking a little, dry them with paper towels once more before filling. Fill each tomato with the filling, heaping it on top. You can pack it in quite firmly.

   If the tomatoes aren’t fully ripe or are firm, use the tip of a sharp knife to make a few shallow vertical cuts in the skin.

   

Serving

1. Put a few lettuce leaves, or just sprigs of dill and parsley, on small plates. Set one or two stuffed tomatoes on each plate and sprinkle them with black pepper. Serve immediately.