In my great- great- grandmother Nellie's recipe tin she has a card in the back titled "Suggestions for Entrees". One of the suggestions is this recipe, stuffed baked tomatoes. Now, I don't know about you, but tomatoes taste the best when they're in season. With my local farmers markets in full swing, and fresh tomatoes at the ready, I reckon this recipe will grace our dinner table as a quick and easy weeknight entree.
INGREDIENTS
6 ripe (but not overly ripe), round, firm, smooth and evenly sized tomatoes*
1 onion, chipped*
6 hard boiled eggs, diced*
1 cup crushed crackers
Jumbo muffin tin
*Note items you can purchase from your local Illinois farmers markets - or can be grown in your own backyard! 👩🏼🌾
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Using a serrated knife, cut off a 1/2" slice from the stem end of each tomato. Then, using a grapefruit knife, carefully cut around the circumference of the opened-up end of the tomato - about 1/4" all the way around. Then, scoop and hollow out as much of the pulp and seeds as possible. Lightly salt the inside of the tomato shells, turn them upside down on top of several layers of paper towels. Let them drain for about 20 minutes.
While the tomatoes are draining, sautee the chipped onion with a little butter and a little bit of the preserved tomato pulp (not the liquid - just the pulp). Drain any liquid and place into a bowl.
To the bowl add the hard boiled eggs and crushed crackers.
Place one tomato in each muffin cup. To each tomato add an even amount of the filling from the bowl.
Top each tomato with a dot of butter.
Baker until nicely browned - or about 15-20 minutes. Don't over-bake or else the tomato will come to pieces.
Serving size: one tomato for each person - this recipe serves 6 people.