Saturday, August 9, 2008

Hot” Tomato Canapés

These canapés are neither warm nor particularly spicy. They are crisp and
creamy, sweet and salty, earthy and clean. I started out to make a Bloody Mary
stuffed tomato, but it cried out for more. Specifically, cream cheese and bacon.
So why are these canapés “Hot”? I swiped the tomatoes from my friend’s garden
while she was out of town. Don'’t worry; I'’ll come clean when she returns.

“Hot” Tomato Canapés
4 oz. (1/2 cup) goat cheese
2 oz (1/4 cup) cream cheese
8 dashes Worcestershire
4-6 dashes Tabasco, or to taste
1 celery rib, finely chopped
3-4 (about 2T) sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
2 strips crispy bacon, crumbled
Fresh ground black pepper
12-16 cherry tomatoes (37206 varieties are recommended)
Sea Salt
Grated lime zest

Mash the cheeses in a bowl with a fork. Mash in Worcestershire and Tabasco. Mix
in celery, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon and black pepper. Cut the caps off the
tomatoes and scoop out the seeds. Fill the tomatoes with the cheese mixture and
top with a gentle sprinkle of salt and lime zest. Serve on a bed of shaved
celery for extra glamour.

Katy Branson
Nashville, TN

Stormatoes

STORMATOES
[Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes inspired by a thunderstorm]

16-20 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup pitted black olives, chopped fine
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in, drained and chopped fine
1 T. fresh basil, chopped
½ T. fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup soft goat cheese
Marinated garlic [store-bought; or see recipe below]

Slice off top of cherry tomatoes, remove seeds and pulp, leaving hollow shells to fill.

Mix the next four ingredients (olives, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and rosemary).
Reserve 3 T. of this mixture.

Mix the goat cheese into the rest of the olive-tomato-herb mixture.

Place a slice of marinated garlic** in each cherry tomato shell. Fill with the cheese mixture. Top with a bit of the reserved olive-tomato-herb mixture. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Serve cool or at room temperature.

** If desired, instead of marinated garlic pieces, mix 1 clove of raw garlic, finely minced, into the cheese filling.

JOE & THEA’S MARINATED GARLIC
2 Lb. garlic (peeled...put garlic in iced water to facilitate peeling)
½ quart white wine (cheap....er inexpensive)
½ quart red wine vinegar
3 jalapeno peppers (sliced thin with seeds)
2 bay leaves
pinch of thyme and rosemary
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
pinch of salt
3 tbs sugar

Cook ALL of above 3 minutes from light boil. Let sit overnight and cook again 15 minutes from light boil. Let COOL. Fill glass jars, liquid included. Pour a little olive oil over top.
DO NOT REFRIGERATE. Store in cool location. Ready to eat In 3 days if you can wait that long!

This recipe comes from an afternoon at a farm southeast of Nashville, in a hanging valley owned by an Eastwood neighbor named David Wood...Wood’s Eastwood East. Two summers ago, we were walking with friends Joe and Thea when the sky suddenly turned dark and wind swirled into the valley. Huge raindrops splattered as we dashed for cover in the farm’s only dwelling, a shiny sliver Airstream trailer from the 1970s. Crowded close and damp around a tiny formica table, we shook the water out of our hair and settled in to wait out the storm. With lightning crashing and rain pounding the aluminum shell encompassing us, we talked and told stories through a dark, wet afternoon.
Why does food always taste better in the countryside, with friends? We pooled what we’d each brought: black olives, some goat cheese, cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes were a revelation: heirloom varieties of all shapes and colors, grown by Mennonite farmers north of Nashville. Delicious.. but they were (almost) upstaged by Joe and Thea’s contribution: a jar of their secret recipe: melt-in-your-mouth marinated garlic that is legendary among their friends. The flavors of that afternoon–olives, garlic, goat cheese and heirloom tomatoes–inspired this experiment to bring them together, along with some sun-dried tomatoes (since you just can’t have too much tomatocity), along with herbs from my garden. Picnics with friends and family are the best, so I wanted bite-size bits that would travel well, require no extra utensils, and capture a bit of the magic of that stormy Tennessee country afternoon.

Beth Conklin
Nashville, TN

Dolmades + Tomatoes = Dolmatos

I made "Dolmades" (stuffed grape leaves) for my Aunt's wedding reception and it
was so incredibly labor intensive that I swore I would never do it again. Especially
for that many people. I like the filling so much though that I decided to stuff tomatoes
with it this year for the contest. I added grilled lamb and homemade tzatziki to top it
off with and really liked the finished product. You can enjoy them warm or cold. I prefer
them cold at this time of the year. (currently August of 2008) If you want to serve them
warm, you will need to skin them first. If they are served cold and unskinned they can be
hand held which I love. Finger foods are fun because people tend to be more social when
they are not bound to a knife, fork and table.

For the Tzatziki I use kefir cheese to thicken the greek yoghurt and make it stand up better.
My best friend is Lebanese and he introduced me to it years ago. It's also known as Lebne.
Traditionally lemon is used but I omit it because the kefir cheese already has a bit it tartness to it.

There are many similarities in Greek and Lebanese cooking. All of the spices for the filling are ground fresh. Using allspice berries and cinnamon stick. It's
less expensive the grind your own spices and the flavor is usually more intense.

Kefir Cheese can be purchased at Halal markets.
Whole Foods consistently carries ground lamb.

Dolmatos
You will need
10 small Roma tomatoes cut lengthwise. Make sure they are ripe
and tender.

For the rice filling
1 c Long grain rice
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 ts Ground cinnamon
1/2 Finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 tsp Ground allspice
3 finely chopped scallions
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c Minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Minced fresh mint

Cook rice in a small saucepan. While rice is cooking, combine all of the above ingredients except the (2 Tbs. olive and yellow onion) in a mixing bowl, stir and let macerate. Saute the onion in the olive oil and set aside to cool.

Grilled Lamb Patty

1/2 pound of ground lamb
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. chopped scallions
salt and pepper.

Combine mixture and form into a large thin patty. Grill on barbeque until done but
still moist. Set aside to cool.

Tzatziki

1 cup greek yoghurt ( do not use non or low fat)
1/2 cup kefir cheese
1 cucumber ( peeled, seeded, grated and finely chopped)
3 medium garlic cloves (finely minced or use microplane)
1 Tbsp. fresh dill (or to taste)
salt to taste ( I like to use a fair amount)

Combine the Tzatziki ingredients and mix well. A sturdy wisk works fine.
Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Scoop out the loose part of the tomato. I like to use a grapefruit spoon.

Add the cooled, sauteed onion and rice to the filling mixture and combine
well. Slice the cooled grilled lamb patty in very thin slices and lay two slices
into the hollowed out roma tomatoes then top with a heaping Tbsp. of the rice mixture.

Serve with a generous dallop of Tzatziki on top or offer it on the side. The Tzatziki
is a must!

Makes 20 Dolmatos.

My Greek friend did sample the lamb and I got the thumbs up.

Taryn Engle
Nashville, TN

Friday, August 8, 2008

La Tomatina*

Ingredients:
Kernels from 1 ear of corn (about 1 cup)
Olive oil 1 Tbsp
2 avocados
Juice of 1 lime
Canned jalapenos – 1 ½ Tbsp chopped
White wine vinegar 1 tsp
Sour cream 1 Tbsp
Cumin ¼ tsp
Tomatoes (heirloom) – 4 medium sized with seeds scooped out (can chop up without seeds and add to filling

Roast the corn in the olive oil (450 oven for 5-10 min)
Dice the avocado, mix with lime juice (1 Tbsp to start) and the remainder of ingredients. May need to adjust quantities based on the size of the avocado and personal taste. When seasoned to taste, fill tomatoes with avocado mixture.

La Tomatina*
*A food fight festival held in Buñol, Valencia, Spain the last week in August: includes music, parades, dancing, fireworks, a paella cooking contest and a brutal tomato food fight

Life story of the recipe: The stuffed tomato recipe contest was announced. I like avocados, roasted corn, and tomatoes. I tested the combination above on friends at a luncheon and neighbors at the kitchen counter. A stuffed tomato was born.

P.S. If you can’t make it to La Tomatina you can eat (not throw) a tomato and visit TOMATO ART FEST.

Kathy Jabs
Nashville, TN

Stuffed Roasted Tomato with Roasted Portobello and Pesto Orzo

Roasted Tomatoes:
4 large, ripe but firm tomatoes
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper

Pesto:
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
2 cloves fresh garlic
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ t fresh lemon juice
¼ - 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Stuffing:
½ cup red wine or cooking wine
2 T low sodium soy sauce
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 small cloves garlic, crushed
1 T olive oil
2 small or 1 large Portobello mushroom cap, stem removed
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut in half lengthwise.
2 T chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
½ cup whole-wheat orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions

Preheat oven to 250 deg. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water 1 minute; remove skins. Core tomatoes and scoop out seeds, leaving a thick wall and bottom. Place tomatoes on foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and divide 1 T balsamic vinegar evenly among tomatoes, swirling to coat inside surface. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hr 30 minutes, turning upside down halfway through cooking to allow excess liquid to drain. Remove from oven and keep warm.

Meanwhile, mix the red wine, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and 1 T olive oil. Place Portobello mushroom caps gill-side-up in a shallow dish and cover with marinade. Allow to sit at least 30 minutes.

While mushrooms marinate, prepare pesto. Rinse basil leaves and blanch 30 seconds in boiling water, then drain and submerge in ice water to prevent further cooking. Drain and squeeze out excess water until quite dry. Place basil into bowl of food processor along with pine nuts, parmesan, garlic cloves, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse until all ingredients are finely ground, stopping to scrape down sides if necessary. With food processor running, add lemon juice and olive oil until well mixed; adjust seasonings. Consistency should be spreadable, not runny.

Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil, brush with olive oil. Flatten red bell pepper halves with hand and place skin side up on baking sheet; brush with olive oil. Remove mushroom caps from marinade and drain excess, reserve marinade. Place gill-side-up on baking sheet. Broil vegetables 4” from heat for 15 minutes until mushrooms soften and bell peppers char. Turn mushrooms over and brush with marinade about halfway through cooking time. Allow peppers to cool until able to be handled; peel off and discard skin. Chop roasted mushrooms and bell pepper into ¼” dice. Mix with cooked orzo, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/3 cup pesto. (Reserve remaining pesto for another use.)

Stuff filling into roasted tomatoes taking care not to overstuff and tear tomatoes. If tomatoes seem too soft, place in oven-safe ramekins. Heat in a 350 degree oven 5-10 minutes until evenly heated and serve warm.

This recipe was developed for the 2008 Tomato Art Fest and was adapted from a favorite grilled Portobello and roasted red pepper “burger” recipe which also includes provolone cheese and fresh spinach served on a toasted whole wheat bun. The pesto recipe is a summertime staple in my house, made with homegrown basil from my garden and is fabulous with pasta and vegetables, as a sandwich spread, or thinned with additional olive oil for a dip with fresh bread. Soy or rice “parmesan” can be used to make the recipe vegan.

Leslie Allen
Nashville, TN

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Send your stuffed tomato recipes!

The time is here. We're looking for recipes for stuffed tomatoes. Go get some tomatoes. Be crafty in the kitchen. Experiment with family tasters. And last, but not least, e-mail us your entries to be included on this blog, and in our contest.

Recipe requests begin...NOW!

See the sidebar for contest rules, and send your entries to yummytomatorecipes@gmail.com.