What Do You Mean You Don't Have a Ricer?

Eastern Christmas = big dinner

For Eastern Christmas (Jan 7--today!) we had a big dinner party. 12 people, all in our house. We sent Naadia and Martha for the veggies: 10 kilos of potatoes, 1.5 kilos of zucchini, three kilos of tomatoes, and a kilo of onions, plus half a kilo of green bell peppers we already had. (one kilo=2.2 pounds) It was crazy! Jennifer and I LOVE mashed potatoes, which is why we needed so many potatoes. obviously. anyway, we had mashed potatoes, zucchini-stuffed-tomatoes, lentils, garlic bread sticks, and rotisserie chicken...then there was fruit salad and cookie bars and brownies oh my! it was crazy.

Here are some pics from the preparation, and also the recipe for zucchini stuffed tomatoes. They are so good, y'all need to eat them ASAP.

making cookies sans electric mixer....


sauteing the stuffing for the tomatoes.....


mixing more salt and pepper into the mashed potatoes (pot 1)....do you sense a theme here? (please note, we did not use a ricer. Also please note that we cooked all these things using the same ONE wooden spoon in our posession at Dawson Hall. And no we didn't actually stuff all that food in our mouths, sadly.)


the result of all our efforts...








Zucchini-stuffed tomatoes:

4 large tomatoes
Salt and sugar
1 1/2 - 2 pounds zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
3 shallots, sliced (I just use 1 onion, finely chopped)
1-2 green bell peppers, finely chopped
some olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh parsley (I don't have any, so I substitute all kinds of different spices--I usually use garlic, basil, oregano, sometimes cumin, and always Emeril Spice)
some fresh thyme (again with no fresh...I use dried thyme)
1/2 pound grated Gruyere (I use whatever kind of cheese the local market is selling this week....usually white cheddar of some kind. We don't have gruyere in Egypt.)

Preheat the broiler (or, if you're in Egypt, the oven. We don't have broilers.). Cut the tops off the tomatoes. Scoop out the centers leaving the outer thick flesh intact. Sprinkle the interior shells of the tomatoes with a couple pinches of salt and sugar, and invert them on a paper towel lined plate to drain until ready to stuff.

With the grating attachment of a food processor or on the large-holed side of a box grater, grate the zucchini, and place it in a strainer. It will look like a TON of zucchini, but it will cook down and you'll be glad you have this much. Trust me. Toss the zucchini with 1 teaspoon salt and place the strainer over a bowl to catch the juices--or just set it in the sink to let the juices drain away. You don't need them. Allow to drain for 5 to 10 minutes, or until you're done with everything else.

In a large heavy skillet, saute the shallots/onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil, until they begin to caramelize. Meanwhile squeeze the zucchini to release as much water as possible. Add the bell peppers to the pan and continue to saute.

Add the dry (drier?) zucchini to the pan, and saute the zucchini with the shallots/onions and peppers for 5 minutes, or until it actually gets cooked (for me this takes about 10 minutes, actually). The zucchini cooks down substantially AND I usually burn some to the bottom of the pan.

Add chopped parsley and thyme (or whatever spices you want), and then toss the zucchini with the cheese, reserving 1/4 cup of the cheese for topping.

Stuff the tomatoes with the filling, mounding it slightly, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place in tomato halves in ovenproof baking dish and broil/bake them until the tops are golden. Serve hot.

Good side dishes to try (a couple at a time, not all together!): brown lentils, mashed potatoes, brown rice, salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I use the one from the balsamic portobella recipe).

Yum.

posted by Teri @ 2:23 PM