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Mediterranean-Style Tomatoes with Tuna Stuffing
If these beautiful appetizers aren’t Mediterranean, French or Spanish, they should be.
Tuna-stuffed tomatoes just scream summertime in Provence or Valencia! I believe
I actually had something like this with French friends many years ago. But my
memory tends to be generous.
American fresh tomatoes stuffed with mayonnaise-heavy chicken
salad or tuna salad were an item from my mother's generation, and considered
quite genteel. Necessarily seasonal, they were realistic only in summer in
those ancient days before trucks and planes brought in nearly vine-ripe produce
from Florida and California and Chile.
Now, thanks to agricultural advances we have tomatoes year
round that actually taste like something. “Campari” tomatoes are a hybrid (but
not the much-vilified GMO) developed in the 1990s for commercial greenhouse and
hydroponic growing. These intensely red, small (about 2-inch diameter), round
beauties, often sold “on the vine,” are sweet and tasty, and are available in
supermarkets most of the time. They seem ideal for this European-style “small
dish.”
In the Mediterranean, “light” rather than white or Albacore
tuna is preferred, and it’s usually packed in olive or other oil rather than
water. My recipe calls for oil-packed light tuna, from Italy if available, for
the most Mediterranean taste. Several of the other ingredients are also
Mediterranean, including green olives, capers, olive oil and wine vinegar. The
round bottoms on Campari tomatoes makes standing them up on a platter a bit
difficult. A tiny slice off the bottom of the tomatoes, or a thin bed of finely
shredded lettuce under them will help.
The recipe serves 4 as an appetizer or 2-3 as a luncheon. They should be eaten fairly fresh, but can be stored in the refrigerator for an hour or so. If stored too long the tomato softens.
1 pound (usually 1 package) Campari tomatoes, as similar in
size as possible
1 (4-ounce) can light or white tuna, packed in oil, Italian
if available
1 green onion, green and white parts
1 inch piece of celery stalk
8 small green pimento-stuffed olives
1 teaspoon capers, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
A pinch of cayenne
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon wine vinegar
A little minced parsley or green onion top for garnish
Rinse and drain the tomatoes. With a sharp knife, thinly
slice off their tops. Save the tops. (Optionally, in addition, cut a very thin
slice off the bottoms of the tomatoes so eventually they will stand up easier
on a serving dish.) With a small spoon (a teaspoon-sized measuring spoon is
useful) scoop out the juicy middles of the tomatoes, and put those middles in a
colander or sieve to drain. Turn the hollowed-out tomatoes upside down on a paper towel to drain.
On a cutting board, using a chef’s knife, cut the flesh off
the tomato tops, discarding the stem-attachment area. With the knife, finely
chop both these pieces of top and the middles of the tomatoes. Return the
chopped tomato flesh to the colander or sieve and press it down firmly to get
rid of the juices. Put the pressed tomato flesh into a mixing bowl.
On the cutting board, finely mince the green onion and piece
of celery, along with the drained olives and capers. Add this mixture to the
chopped tomato flesh
Open the can of tuna and press the can lid firmly into the
fish to squeeze out the liquid. Add the pressed tuna to the mixing bowl. Add
the salt, pepper, cayenne, olive oil and vinegar. With a spoon or fork break up
any pieces of tuna, and combine the mixture well. Taste for salt, and mix in a
little if desired.
Spoon tuna mixture into the hollowed-out tomatoes, filling
them evenly and mounding the filling on top as necessary. On the cutting board
finely mince a small amount of parsley or green onion top and place a small
amount on the center of the filled tomatoes.
