Creole Tomatoes Recipes

CREOLE STUFFED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Cut a thin slice off the top of each tomato; scoop out the discard pulp. Sprinkle salt inside the tomatoes; invert on paper towels to drain. In a large bowl, combine the rice, bacon, cheese, onion, parsley, egg and pepper. Fold in shrimp. Spoon into tomatoes. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Combine bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over the tomatoes. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through.

CREOLE OKRA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until limp. Add the green pepper; cook and stir until tender. Drain the tomatoes, reserving juice, and pour them into the skillet. Season with thyme, parsley, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat.
• Add the frozen okra, and pour in enough of the reserved juice from the tomatoes to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or until okra is tender.

CREOLE TOMATO SALAD

Steps:

• 1. To prepare salad, alternate tomato and onion slices on a platter. Sprinkle with salt. Top with mint and chives.
• To prepare vinaigrette, combine oil, vinegar, mustard, and garlic in a jar. Cover tightly, shake vigorously.
• Drizzle vinaigrette over sald and serve at room temperature.

CREOLE TOMATO AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Combine the roughly chopped tomatoes, fennel stems, roughly chopped onion, and minced garlic in a large pot over high heat, season with salt and pepper, and cover. The liquid released from the vegetables as they are heated makes oil unnecessary. Keep an eye on them as they cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add the chicken stock and simmer for about 15 minutes. Puree with a hand-held blender or in a blender or food processor for about 30 seconds. Add the basil and process until the mixture is smooth but still a bit thick. Strain through a medium sieve, pushing through excess pulp but discarding large pieces of tomato skin.
• Place the diced tomato, fennel bulb, diced onion, and sliced garlic in a large soup pot and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add the strained liquid, bring to a simmer, and adjust the salt and pepper.

CREOLE RICE WITH TOMATOES AND HERBS

Steps:

• Rinse rice and drain well.
• Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice. Cook at full rolling boil exactly 17 minutes. Drain immediately and return rice to saucepan.
• Meanwhile, heat butter in a saucepan and add onion. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Add tomato, salt and pepper and cook briefly, stirring. Add this to the cooked rice and stir. Stir in basil and lemon juice. Serve.

HEARTY CREOLE OKRA AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Cook and stir celery and onions until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the corn kernels and cook for 3 minutes.
• Stir in okra, tomatoes, andouille sausage, and Creole seasoning; cover and cook over medium heat until the okra has lost all of its slippery texture, at least 45 minutes. Season with sea salt, black pepper, and more Creole seasoning if necessary. Cook, uncovered, to reduce liquid, about 10 minutes.

FRANK'S STUFFED CREOLE TOMATOES

Steps:

• The first thing you want to do is trim the tops off the tomatoes, scrape out all the inside pulp with a melon baller, and set the tomatoes onto a cookie sheet in the refrigerator to chill.
• Next, in a 12-inch non-stick skillet, melt the margarine, drop in the onions and garlic, and sauté them over high heat until the onions begin to wilt (it isn't necessary to caramelize them-and besides, you don't want to burn the garlic). When you're feel as though the onions have softened sufficiently, pour into the skillet all the pulp you removed from inside the tomatoes and cook it down until the majority of the liquid evaporates (which should take about 10 minutes over a medium-high heat).
• Now once the tomato pulp has reduced, add to the skillet the crawfish tails (along with any crawfish fat left inside the package), stir everything together well, and cook the mixture just until the crawfish come up to heat-don't overcook them or they'll become tough and rubbery. When they're ready, turn off the fire, remove the skillet from the burner, and allow them to cool to room temperature.
• Then, when you're ready to stuff the tomatoes, take a large mixing bowl and a rubber spatula and add all the egg salad ingredients to the bowl-the eggs, mayo, soup base, red onion, celery, parsley, Dijon mustard, hot sauce, and lemon juice. Now very gently and for a very short time, fold the ingredients together-do not stir...fold! You don't want to mash the egg yolks. When the ingredients are thoroughly blended, add the contents of the crawfish skillet to the mixture and fold everything together again-this time until the mix is totally uniform.
• All that's left to do is season the stuffing to taste with salt and black pepper and mound the mixture by heaping spoonfuls into the chilled tomato hulls. Sprinkle the tomatoes lightly with a little paprika and serve each stuffed tomato on top crispy lettuce leaf with buttered crackers.
• Chef's Notes:.
• (Personally, this not the chef speaking, Frank, this is the guy who posted this recipe, I would stuff the tomatoes as directed and bake them at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes).
• Instead of crawfish tails, you can also use fresh shrimp sautéed down in the onions and garlic. Simply fold in the shrimp just as you would the crawfish tails.
• The stuffing turns out best if you finely chop up the pieces of the tomato pulp before cooking it down with the crawfish. I suggest you do the chopping by hand with a chef's knife-a food processor purees the tomatoes too finely.
• This recipe uses the minimum amount of mayonnaise. If you'd prefer your stuffing to be slightly more moist and creamy, you can stir in as much as twice the amount of mayo without changing the taste and texture of the recipe.
• The tomatoes may be served freshly made, but they seem to have a richer taste and flavor once they have been chilled, especially overnight. Just make sure you cover them well with plastic wrap.
• Oh-and I emphasize once again, fold the mixture gently. If you stir or mix it together the egg salad will turn pasty and lose it's palatability.
• frank davis.