KELLEY SAYS: With all of the fresh produce coming in now, it seems like a nice seafood salad stuffed into a fresh tomato and served over a bed of fresh lettuce would be a light, refreshing meal on a hot summer day.
BARRY SAYS: Kelley has made this many times over the years and served it several ways. Sometimes it's just a light snack with the shrimp- and-crab mix served on crackers; sometimes it's a little more involved with the tomatoes.
KELLEY: Either way, it is really simple and really good. You can buy pre-cooked shrimp and crabmeat or you can prepare either yourself. You can also substitute other types of seafood such as lobster, bay scallops or surimi. Fresh dill or tarragon can also replace the marjoram to give it a more tart taste. The key is to go light on the seasoning, as well as the mayonnaise or flavored olive oil, because you don't want to overpower the seafood. I tried a little flavored mayo and it didn't work, for example.
BARRY: I like that we thought to try it different ways. It's great in a tomato but it's also really good just on a cracker.
KELLEY: As always, the fresher the ingredients, the better the overall meal.
Tomatoes Stuffed with Seafood Salad
-3/4 pound cooked shrimp, chopped
1 cup cooked crabmeat
cup diced celery
cup diced fresh green bell pepper
6 medium fresh tomatoes, tops removed, insides scooped out and diced
1/3 cup fresh diced onion
cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
cup capers
3 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram leaves or 1 tablespoon dried
teaspoon paprika
Squeeze of lemon and lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Mayonnaise to combine or Lemon-Flavored Olive Oil
Slice off stemmed end of tomatoes; remove pulp and chop. Take out as many of the seeds as possible. Place chopped pulp in bowl. Place remaining ingredients except mayonnaise and combine. At this point you may want to adjust any of the vegetables or seasonings to your taste. If adding mayonnaise, you don't want the mixture to be very watery. After letting the mixture sit for a couple of minutes, you may want to drain a bit of the juice from the bowl. Then add the mayo.
If adding the olive oil instead of mayo, just use a little bit at a time until you obtain the flavor you prefer. This would be the lighter version.
Use either version to stuff your tomatoes and serve on a lettuce bed with a lemon wedge.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.