Tomato Surprise (Stuffed Tomatoes with Scrambled Eggs and Celery)

Sheryl

Sep 3

Tomato Surprise on plate

Sometimes recipe titles in hundred-year-old cook books aren't very descriptive. For example, a recipe for Tomato Surprise left me scratching my head until I read the recipe directions. Tomato Surprise actually was a recipe for tomatoes stuffed with scrambled eggs and celery.

Tomato Surprise was tasty and made a nice presentation. I made it for a light dinner, but it would work well for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.

Here's the original recipe:

Recipe for Tomato Surprise — Source: Larkin Housewives' Cook Book (1923)

When I made this recipe, I had a lot the scrambled egg mixture left over after I stuffed the tomatoes. The recipe author must have used larger tomatoes than what I used. I revised the recipe to indicate that 3-6 tomatoes should be used, depending upon the size of the tomatoes.

Four stalks of celery seemed like a lot (maybe the stalks were smaller a hundred years ago), so I used 2 stalks.

A hundred-years-ago tomatoes were often peeled. The original recipe called for peeling tomatoes, but I couldn't bring myself to peel the tomatoes, so I left the skin on.

I didn't have onion juice, so I substituted 1/8 teaspoon of onion powder.

And, I decided that the tomatoes didn't need to be served with lettuce or salad dressing.

Here's the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Tomato Surprise (Stuffed Tomatoes with Scrambled Eggs and Celery)

Servings: 3 - 6
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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3 - 6 tomatoes (depending upon tomato size)

2 stalks celery, chopped

6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash cayenne (red) pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion juice

4 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon butter

lettuce leaves, optional

salad dressing, optional

Here's the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Using a knife remove the stem end and the firm core from the tomato and discard. Scoop out the tomato pulp, place in a strainer and drain off any excess liquid. Chop the pulp. Set aside. Turn the tomato shells upside down on a plate to drain any liquid out of them.

In the meantime, break the eggs into a bowl. Beat eggs until smooth, then add the salt, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and milk. Beat until combined.

Using medium heat, melt butter in skillet, add egg mixture and cook the eggs until set. Periodically stir and fold the eggs until they are completely cooked. Removed from heat and stir in the chopped tomato pulp and celery. Stuff the tomato shells with the mixture.

If desired, serve on lettuce leaves with salad dressing.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com