My Fresh Summer Tomatoes, Filled With Tuna And Ginger ©

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a wonderful break I return to you all with this lovely fresh summer recipe, which I hope you will enjoy.

My break was a little longer than expected, because having moved to the country, I have been on my feet all day gardening, watering and enjoying my family, which left little time for blogging! Today though is the 1st July, so I am back to my blog and will post every two weeks, knowing you are also all busy enjoying the summer and less time on your computers!

***Cook’s Note : Always do your ‘ingredients check’ of your store cupboard and ‘shopping,’ the day before cooking. Always have everything out ready before you begin cooking and never cook something for the first time, for guests!  This is especially for my “New Cooks.” Like all things, the first time you try something new, you learn so much along the way. I even keep to this rule myself and when ever I don’t, the procedure does not flow and stress sets in!

**** Remember to consult my “Summer Photograph Gallery,” for ideas for summer cooking! Click on the link below.

https://whatscookinginjaneskitchen.wordpress.com/summer-cooking-photograph-gallery/

 

 

 

Easy, if a little time consuming!

 

 

 

6 Persons

 

 

 

Time to prepare : 30-45 minutes

 

 

Ingredients

6 evenly ‘plum’ sized tomatoes

Two, 104 g tins of tuna in oil

1/2  medium sized cucumber peeled and cubed

1 tbs capers whole

2 tbs ready chopped and stoned Kalamata Olives

1 small fresh chili ( optional) or a few drops of Tabasco

2 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

3 tbs finely chopped parsley or coriander

Zest of lime ( If you only have a lemon omit zest!)

1 lime juice or lemon juice to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 tsp sweet paprika

A little olive oil to drizzle over finished tomatoes

Parsley for decoration

 

Method

1. Open tuna tins and drain away oil. Place in medium sized bowl and break up with a fork.

2. Peel  1/2 cucumber and dice into match head sized cubes. Reserve on large plate.

3. Measure out capers and place in sieve and rinse under the running tap to remove the brine. Reserve together with cucumber.

4. Measure out olives and add to plate. (If you don’t have the ready stoned kind, cut flesh off olive stone and chop as in photograph.This takes longer…!)

5. De-seed chili, chop finely, reserve on plate.

6. Peel ginger and grate on very fine grater, reserve on plate.

7. Wash, drain and finely chop parsley or coriander. Add to other ingredients.

8. Zest lime and then squeeze out juice. Add to bowl with tuna. ( If you don’t have a lime and only a lemon, don’t add lemon zest!)

9. 3/4 of an hour before serving, mix all your ingredients together. (Up until then, reserve in fridge with out mixing together. This gives a fresher result.) Season well!

10. Take each tomato holding it stem downwards in your palm. Using a very sharp serrated knife cut with a ‘zigzag’ pattern  1/3 rd down, from the top of your tomato. If you don’t have time for this just cut straight across for a more simple result. Using a sharp sided teaspoon remove the inside of the tomato. (Reserve tomato pulp, for other cooking.) Sprinkle the tomato with a little salt and turn upside down on kitchen paper to drain, while you prepare the rest.

11. Using a teaspoon, fill tomatoes a little above your opening and sit your lid on top. The tomatoes should be a little open showing the filling. See photograph.

12. Assemble on a large serving plate, decorate with parsley and drizzle, just before serving, with a little olive oil.

N.B. Only fresh ginger is suitable for this recipe, not powdered!

IMPORTANT : Taste two or three times for enough salt and lime or lemon juice. It needs to be really tasty, because when combined with the tomato, the tomato lessens the taste of the filling.

 

 

 

Choose even sized tomatoes, a little larger than plums.

 

 

Gather together all your ingredients before beginning to cook……one or two still need to be added here, check list!

Lime, Ginger and Olive Oil.

 

 

I didn’t have ‘ready stoned’ olives, so I cut the flesh off the stone, as above.

 

 

I then sliced the pieces in half and finely chopped them.

 

 

Here you see all the ingredients, apart from the ginger ready chopped. Cucumber, Capers, Olives and Chili. To the left

the Lime ready to be zested on the zester next to it, the Parsley at the top, next to the Tomatoes and Tuna, broken up with

a fork.

 

Once you are 3/4 of an hour away from serving, mix your ingredients together. This gives the freshest result.

 

 

Season well with salt, pepper and ‘sweet’ paprika. ( Not the HOT kind!)

 

 

Holding the tomato, stalk downwards, cut holding your knife at right angles a ‘Zigzag’ pattern around the upper part of

your tomato.

 

Open out and remove flesh from the inside, lid included with a sharp sided teaspoon. This teaspoon wasn’t sharp enough

and I changed to a sharper one!

 

Sprinkle the inside of your tomatoes with salt. Turn tomatoes upside down on kitchen paper to drain for five minutes.

 

 

Fill each tomato with your tuna mixture a little above your incision and rest cap on top, so that in the final result they

are a little open, showing your lovely filling!

 

Arrange on serving plate, decorate with parsley and drizzle with a little olive oil. Reserve in refrigerator ten minutes to chill.

 

 

A very good summer starter, full of flavor and health.

 

 

Delicious!