Tomatoes à la Monégasque

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan
• •Sharp paring knife
• •¼-teaspoon measuring spoon or narrow melon baller
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small piping bag with a 12 mm plain tip, or sturdy 1-quart food bag

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the eggs

   Put the eggs in a small saucepan, cover them with cold water by 1 inch, and bring just to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 9 minutes, then cool them immediately in cold water. Peel the cold oeufs durs and chop them very finely; the white and yolk should disappear evenly into the tuna rather than sit in large pieces.

2. 2

   Hollow the tomatoes

   Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut a thin slice from each at the stalk end, then loosen the seeds and watery partitions with a narrow measuring spoon. Cup each tomato in your palm and squeeze with great restraint until the loose seeds and water fall out, keeping the walls intact. Do not salt them; the marinade will season the cavities without drawing out another flood of juice.

   A ¼-teaspoon measure reaches inside these small tomatoes more neatly than an ordinary teaspoon. Work around the partitions rather than scraping through the flesh.
3. 3

   Marinate and drain

   Stand the tomatoes upright in a shallow dish and divide the completely cold Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) among their cavities, tilting each tomato so the interior is fully coated. Leave them for exactly 20 minutes. Pour out and discard the used marinade, then invert the tomatoes on a rack or clean towel for 10 minutes and blot each cavity. If a puddle reappears, give them another 5 minutes upside down and blot again. Ça se rattrape. Filling a wet tomato only thins the mayonnaise.

   Keep the finished batch of marinade separate from what touches the tomatoes. Once used here, it is discarded rather than poured back into its storage container.
4. 4

   Mince the filling

   Let the tuna shed its excess packing oil for 5 minutes without pressing it dry, then mince it finely with a knife. Combine it in a cold bowl with the onion, parsley, chervil, tarragon, and chopped oeufs durs. Chop each element finely enough to pass through the piping tip, but keep the mixture granular. A food processor turns it to paste, and this filling should still taste of tuna, egg, and herbs separately.

5. 5

   Bind with mayonnaise

   Fold in the thick mayonnaise until the mince holds together and keeps the ridge left by the spoon. The mayonnaise is the emulsion that binds the filling, not a sauce meant to flood it. If the mixture slumps or beads oil, chill it for 15 minutes; if it is still loose, leave it in a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl for 5 minutes, then fold it once more. Do not add extra mayonnaise, which only makes the filling softer.

6. 6

   Pipe proud domes

   Fit a small piping bag with a 12 mm plain tip, or cut an opening of the same size from a sturdy food bag. Fill the drained tomatoes generously, piping enough mince above each rim to form a smooth dome. If the opening clogs, widen it slightly instead of squeezing harder and splitting the tomato. Arrange the tomates à la Monégasque on a chilled platter, cover loosely, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and no more than 6 hours. Let them stand for 10 minutes before serving so the herbs speak clearly. À table!

Chef Tips

• •These tomatoes are eaten raw and cold, so they must smell of tomatoes before you buy them. Choose firm cocktail tomatoes with ripe fragrance and unbroken skins. If the market offers only hard, scentless fruit, make oeufs mimosa instead; canned tomatoes cannot stand in here.
• •Use solid tuna packed in olive oil, as the formula's tunny with oil intends. Drain the excess, but never rinse or squeeze it dry; that light film of oil gives the mince richness without making it greasy.
• •The mayonnaise must be thick enough to hold a spoon mark. Homemade mayonnaise is splendid, but a good prepared one is an honest home equivalent. A thin dressing will not support the dome.
• •Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) is more assertive than a simple vinaigrette. Use it cold, keep the twenty-minute timing, and drain thoroughly; those three controls let it season the tomato without overwhelming the tuna.
• •Pour a dry white from Bellet, in the hills above Nice, or another crisp, unoaked southern French white. Its freshness suits the tuna, herbs, and sharp-sweet marinade.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) through its own entry up to 3 days ahead. Strain and chill it completely, then measure the required amount only when cold.
• •The eggs may be cooked, peeled, and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead. Keep them whole until you make the filling so their cut surfaces do not dry.
• •The tuna filling can be mixed up to 12 hours ahead and kept tightly covered in the cold. Hollow and marinate the tomatoes on the day of serving, then pipe them no more than 6 hours before the meal.
• •Keep the finished tomatoes at 4°C or colder. For food safety, do not leave the tuna, egg, and mayonnaise filling at room temperature for more than 2 hours in total.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)