Tomates Farcies

From My Carolina Kitchen, serves 4

4 ripe, but firm red tomatoes

Flesh from the insides of the tomatoes, seeds and juices discarded

Good sea salt, preferably French

1 ½ cups of a combination of ground veal, beef and pork, cooked and finely chopped

Peeled and chopped eggplant, about 1 ½ cups

½ cup cooked and chopped button mushrooms, optional

1 small clove of peeled garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Milk to add moisture

1 large egg, beaten to blend

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Olive oil for drizzling

Slice off the top of each tomato and set the tops aside for later. If necessary, cut a thin slice from the bottom so the tomato will stand upright. Scoop out most of the flesh of the tomatoes, remove the seeds discard extra juice and set aside to use in the filling. Salt the insides of the tomatoes with good sea salt and set on a rack, upside down to drain overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day remove the tomatoes from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the bread in a bowl with a little splash of milk and let it soak for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a hot skillet, brown the meat in a little olive oil, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon as it browns. When the meat is almost done, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until done, then set aside in a large bowl. Add the chopped eggplant, chopped mushrooms and finely chopped garlic to the meat mixture, then remove to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until coarsely ground. Return to the bowl and season with chopped fresh thyme, chopped parsley and a beaten egg. Stir well to combine and add a splash of milk and a tablespoon of all-purpose flour to bind the mixture, and then with a spoon carefully stuff the tomatoes with the meat and vegetable mixture. Place the stuffed tomatoes in an ovenproof pan (it’s okay that they touch), replace the reserved tomato tops and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is heated through (registers 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer) and the tomatoes have softened. Carefully remove the tomatoes from the pan and serve either hot or warm.

Cook’s note: Christopher used equal parts veal, beef and pork, but some lamb, which is very popular in Provence, would be wonderful either added to or substituted for one of the other meats in the mixture.

As told to us by Christopher, a 6th generation French butcher from Provence, serves 4, easily doubled or tripled