Pomodorini ripieni

We made and photographed these adorable stuffed cherry tomatoes, pomodorini ripieni, a few weeks back.

The problem was, we didn’t measure our ingredients while we were preparing the stuffed cherry tomatoes. This isn’t surprising, as we rarely measure when we cook. We just add what looks right, feels right, and tastes right. This, we believe, is part of what we love about cooking; it is not so much an intellectual endeavor, but instead an activity that engages the senses and the emotions.

When Stefano’s mom explains to us how to prepare a dish, she sometimes omits key steps or ingredients and jumps directly to the finer points of execution. When we stopped for clarification on a basic part of the recipe, she’d smile in surprise and tell us, “Of course!” suggesting that what we had asked about was so obvious that it did not need to be stated.

When writing on Due Spaghetti, though, we generally specific amounts for ingredients so our readers are not left guessing and recipes are authentically prepared. In order to post the cherry tomato recipe, we would need to make it again to confirm the precise quantities of tuna, mayo and capers.

We’ve debated this topic before, with Cara taking the position that our readers deserve an accurate and tested recipe, and Stefano maintaining that through Due Spaghetti we can teach our readers to cook the way his mother and grandmother did – a superior form of cooking which develops from trusting intuition and experience to determine when more salt is needed in a sauce, or when the texture and consistency of a dough is perfect.

So, this time we are going to post our recipe without specifying quantities for the ingredients, trusting our readers to make wise and inspired decisions about what looks right, feels right and tastes right to them.

These tuna-stuffed cherry tomatoes are a pretty appetizer or party food. They can be arranged on an interesting plate or platter, or skewered for easy serving.

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Pomodorini ripieni

Yield: 25-30 cherry tomatoes

These tuna-stuffed cherry tomatoes are a pretty appetizer or party food. They can be arranged on an interesting plate or platter, or skewered for easy serving.

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Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 cans tuna in olive oil
• Mayonaise
• Capers
• Italian parsley
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

Wash cherry tomatoes and slice the tops off of them.

Carefully core the cherry tomatoes with a paring knife and scoop out the seeds and pulp with a small spoon. Preserve the pulp and seeds.

Set the hollowed tomatoes upside down unto a baking tray and allow the juices to drain.

Dice the tomato pulp, and add it along with the juices and seeds into a bowl.

Drain the tuna and stir into the tomato mixture.

Add mayonnaise to the creaminess level of your preference.

Rinse a handful of capers quickly under water, dice them add them to the mixture. You can use more or fewer capers according to preference.

Chop the leaves of one bunch of Italian parsley finely, and stir it into the mixture.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Carefully stuff the tuna mixture into the cherry tomatoes, taking care not to tear the tomato walls. 

If you wish, garnish with a small dollop of mayonnaise.