This dish was inspired:
| ESTIMATED CALORIC INFO | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | 1 stuffed tomato |
| Calories from Protein | 27% |
| Calories from Fat | 60% |
| Calories from Carbs | 17% |
| Total Calories | 385 |
My CSA has inundated me lately with absolutely gorgeous and delicious tomatoes. I’ve been trying to keep up with them all, and frankly, haven’t been too upset at including tomatoes in some shape or form in all my recent meals.
But this one monster tomato, well, I had to do something special with it. So.. I stuffed it.
Looking for a chance to try out some home made mayonnaise? Here it is.
Serves 2. Easily doubled. This is a pretty low calorie meal, but there’s a decent amount of fat in those calories from the bacon and the mayonnaise, so bear that in mind.
Prep time – 20 minutes
Cook time – 20 minutes
Ingredients…
- 1/2 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
- 2 huge or 4 large fresh tomatoes
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 jalapeño (optional)
- 1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise
- 3-4 strips of bacon
| ESTIMATED FOOD MILES | |
|---|---|
| Shrimp | 1,500 miles |
| Tomatoes | 200 miles |
| Celery | 200 miles |
| Bell Pepper | 0 miles |
| Mayonnaise | 0 miles |
| Bacon | 45 miles |
| Total | 1,945 miles |
You’ll need three burners – one for a stock pot full of water, one for a pan full of bacon, and one more for either a skillet or a pot.
First, get the things on the oven going. The dish will be served cold, or cool at least, so you want to go ahead and get your cooking started right off.
Poach or sauté the shrimp in your favorite seafood spices, make sure to include some lemon juice. Remember that shrimp really doesn’t need a lot of time to cook, and it will keep cooking for a few minutes after you’ve removed it from the heat.
Cook the bacon to your preferred doneness.
While these are going, blanch, skin, and core your tomatoes. I had never actually done this before, so if you’re like me you’ll need a bit of an explanation.
To skin and core tomatoes, you want to blanch them like you would any other vegetable. Prepare a bowl of ice water deep enough to fully submerge your tomato. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water up to gentle boil – make sure there’s enough water to cover the tomato.
Submerge the tomato in the boiling water for 30-45 seconds, and then immediately shock it in the ice bath to stop the cooking. Let it cool in the ice bath, and then remove.
It’s easier to core the tomato before removing the skin, as the skin will help you from destroying the thing in the process. Cut a sizable hole around the top of the tomato and slightly inward. Twist core and remove, and dig out as much seed from the inside as possible.
If you’ve done it well, this will leave you with a pretty beautiful little vegetable to build your dish on.
By now, the bacon and the shrimp are probably about done.
Remove the bacon from the skillet and place on a paper towel to drain grease. Remove the shrimp from the pot or skillet. Allow both to cool at room temperature.
Vegetable dicing time. Chop up the celery and pepper(s) into fine cuts while the rest of the food is cooking.
In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the diced vegetables. If you’re using a plain mayonnaise, chop up some fresh parsley or basil to include for some interest.
Add cooled shrimp to the mayonnaise mixture.
Carefully spoon the mix into the skinned and cored tomatoes. Leave some shrimp hangin’ out for a nice garnish.
Crumble the bacon into pieces in a fresh paper towel, and for your last touch – sprinkle it over the top of your stuffed tomatoes.
This is really a great way to use up a *lot* of tomato all at once. If you wanted to get really crazy, you could even dice some up and include that in the mayo mix, but it might be a bit overwhelming.
I paired mine with Thomas Keller’s creamed corn (recipe from Ad Hoc at Home) – which I can not seem to get enough of – and a biscuit.
What’s your favorite way of dealing with a tomato rush?
