Tomates Rellenos Tapas Food

TOMATO RELLENOS

Steps:

• Bring water, rice, salt and bay leaf to a boil in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Fluff with fork. Cool.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut 1 inch slice from top of each tomato; reserve tops. Working over bowl to catch juices, remove pulp from tomatoes, leaving shell intact. Strain seeds from juices. Finely chop tomato pulp and reserve with juices. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeno and cloves and stir 1 minute. Add reserved tomato pulp and juices. Stir until most of liquid evaporates. Stir in cilantro, almonds, currants and rice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place tomatoes in individual ramekins. Divide filling among tomatoes. Top each with tomato top. Brush tomatoes with oil. Place ramekins on baking sheet. Bake until tomatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

TOMATES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Skin the tomatoes, first by cutting out the core with a sharp knife and making a '+' incision on the other end of the tomato. Then place in a pan of boiling water for 10 seconds, remove and plunge into a bowl of iced or very cold water (this latter step is to stop the tomatoes from cooking and going mushy).
• Slice the tops off the tomatoes, and just enough of their bases to remove the rounded ends so that they will sit squarely on the plate. Keep the tops if using small tomatoes, but discard those large tomatoes. Remove the seeds and insides, either with a teaspoon or small, sharp knife.
• Mash the eggs with the allioli -or the mayonnaise, if using- salt, pepper and parsley. Stuff the tomatoes, firmly pressing the filling down. With small tomatoes, replace the lids at a jaunty angle. If keeping to serve later, brush them with olive oil and black pepper to prevent them from drying out. Cover with plastic wrap and keep.
• For large tomatoes, the filling must be firm enough to be sliced. If you make your own mayonnaise, thicken it by using more egg yolks. If you use shop-bought mayonnaise or allioli, add white breadcrumbs until the mixture reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes.
• Season. Fill the tomatoes, pressing down firmly until level. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then slice with a sharp carving knife into rings. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

TOMATES RELLENOS - TAPAS

Steps:

• Cut the tops off the tomatoes and maybe a slice off the bottom so you can stand them flat.
• Remove the insides of the tomatoes with a spoon or knife.
• Mix the eggs, aioli, salt, pepper and parsley.
• Fill the tomatoes. Replace the tops, sprinkle with some olive oil and black pepper.
• tips: if the mixture seems too soft you might have to add some bread crumbs. If you are using mayonnaise instead of aioli, season it with garlic.