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Notes on Scooping Out The Tomatoes From Our Experience
This recipe requires you to scrape out the middle of a large beefsteak tomato. We have read some recipe books that suggest this can be achieved with a teaspoon. No ifs, no buts, it cannot be done with a teaspoon! The core of a large tomato is hard and does not respond to being scooped out with a teaspoon.

Get a shortish knife, as sharp as possible and cut away the core in small chunks at a time. Remember, you only need to scoop out enough of the tomato to fit in a tablespoon of tuna. One other tip, when we say cut the top third off the tomato, do just that and not just slice a small part off the top.

Specific Cooking Equipment
For this recipe you will need a food blender. A hand blender is fine.

CLICK ANY PICTURE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT

Preparation Finely chop the celery, onion and garlic. Put the chopped ingredients and the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and sugar in a pan on a low heat for 30 minutes. Give a stire every 5 minutes or so to stop the mix sticking to the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper.

While the tomato sauce is simmering set a pan of water boiling. With a sharp knife, score a couple of lines through the tomato skin. Place them in the boiling water for two minutes and then plunge into cold water. The skin can then easily be peeled off. Slice off the top third of the tomato (click picture to enlarge it)

Now scoop out the centre of each tomato with a sharp knife, sufficiently large for a tablespoon of tuna.

Mash up the tinned tuna well and put a tablespoon of it into the centre of each tomato. When the tomato sauce has finished cooking cover the top of each tomato with the sauce. Place them in a baking tray and then under a medium heat grill for 12 minutes.

While the filled tomatoes are cooking chop up a handful or so of parsley. When the tomatoes are cooked, sprinkle parsley over the top and serve immediately. The sauce and filled tomatoes can be prepared earlier and stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Simply pour the sauce over the filled tomatoes and place under the grill. If taken from the fridge, cook for 15 minutes rather than 12.

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