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From: nemo@rochester.UUCP (Wolfe)
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Subject: Re: stuffed tomato recipe request
Message-ID: <10895@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 6-Aug-85 15:25:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: rocheste.10895
Posted: Tue Aug  6 15:25:30 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Aug-85 00:33:33 EDT
References: <5198@elsie.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 69

> My family loves stuffed tomatoes (both hot and cold) so I'm
> looking for some new creative filling recipes.  I'd appreciate
> any suggestions.  Thanks.
> 
> Yoddy

One of our favorites came about by accident.  We had made spanakotyropitas
(Greek spinach-cheese pies) and run out of phyllo before the filling was
exhausted.  The leftover filling was then used to stuff tomatoes, with
great results (well, they are a little wet, but it's worth it).  

Spinach - Feta mix :
	1 lb fresh spinach, washed & destemmed then chopped
		(frozen may be used, since you're cooking it anyway)
	2 tbs olive oil
	2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
	1-2 medium onions, chopped
	1/2 lb feta cheese
	1/2 lb ricotta cheese
	2 eggs, beaten
Heat olive oil in large, shallow pan.  Saute onion until translucent.
Add garlic and cook one more minute.  Add chopped spinach and stir to
wilt.  Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring, to dehydrate.  (at
this point we sometimes add a little basil or thyme or oregano, but it
is really not needed)  Turn off heat and let sit while mixing the ricotta
with the crumbled feta and eggs.  You may wish to adjust the proportions
of the cheeses, or even (horrors!) add some parmesan cheese at this point.
Add the spinach mixture and stir well.  You may want to pepper it some 
(but the feta is usually plenty for salt).

This mixture can then be used in spanakopita (I'm too lazy to say the
whole thing all the time), souffles, omelets, or stuffed veggies (tomatoes
work the best).  To make spanakopita, get out your phyllo (best bought
since it's a pain to make) and cut off several strips about 2" wide and
the full length of the roll (about 14").  Cover the rest with wax paper
and a damp cloth - the stuff dries out *very* quickly, but if it gets wet
it turns into glue.  Brush the strips with melted butter and plop a tsp
of the spinach mixture (or just the cheeses and egg part if you want
tyropita or some seasoned, cooked ground meat for kreatopita) on one end
and fold the stuffing inside the strip flag-style (like the little paper
footballs we used to play with in elementary school).  Place the little
triangles on a baking pan and brush the tops with butter.  Cook at 350 F
for about 15 - 20 min until golden brown.  Let cool about 5 min. before
eating.  This can also be made into little eggroll shapes or as a whole
pan.  For the pan-style, layer the bottom of your buttered baking dish
with several sheets of buttered phyllo, then spread the spinach mixture 
on them, then more buttered sheets.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 min. until 
top is golden brown.

Tomatoes are stuffed in the usual manner (make sure to have something to
collect the juice that inevitably comes out when they bake).

For the souffle, I usually fold some of the egg whites in with the mixture
separately before adding to the rest.

Another Stuffed Tomato Surprise consists of layers of interesting stuff.
A favorite is sticking an artichoke heart inside the rice/onion mixture
inside the tomatoe (inside the pepper ...)   Capers can be added to the
rice stuffing for a different twist.

Have fun!
Nemo
-- 
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