Whenever you visit my little country, sampling this simple and delicious appetizer is a must and definitely vaut le détour (worth going out of your way for), although you will never have to go very far.
Since there is no substitute for the tiny, delectable North Sea shrimp that are the sale stuffing in Belgium, I have substituted a mixture of shrimp, crabmeat, and lobster meat for a lovely and tasty adaptation. If you prefer, you can of course leave out any one or even two of the three ingredients.
This is a very luxurious appetizer and not an inexpensive one, but you can console yourself that it only takes a few minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
4 firm, ripe, large beefsteak tomatoes
Salt to taste
2 cups cooked, shelled, and diced shrimp, crabmeat, and/or lobster meat
¾ cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 to 12 Boston lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- Cut a thin slice off the top of each tomatoe and reserve. Carefully scoop out the seeds and pulp of each tomatoe with a teaspoon. (Save the pulp for a tomatoe sauce.) Sprinkle the insides of each hollowed-out tomatoe with a pinch of salt and turn upside down on paper towels to drain.
- Mix the shellfish with the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Arrange 2 or 3 Boston lettuce leaves on each plate. Place a scooped-out tomato in the centre. Sprinkle the inside of each tomato with freshly ground black pepper and fill each tomato with the seafood mixture. Cover with the reserved tomatoe tops and sprinkle each plate with minced parsley.
Serves 4
Ruth's favourite recipe of the day: Belgian born international chef Ruth Van Waerebeek combines a love of travel, adventure and the culinary arts in her best selling cookbook 'The taste of Belgium'. She draws inspiration from the many tested recipes carried through generations of family home cooks. Ruth picks one of her favourite recipes for The Brussels Times every day.
