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Stuffed Tomatoes, Cardinal Style

Stuffed tomatoes filled with a savory mixture of shallots, tomatoes, mushrooms, Allemande sauce, bread crumbs, and egg yolks, baked and served with tomato puree.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Shallot and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,982 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Stuffed Tomatoes, Cardinal Style

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the filling

  1. Prepare the tomatoes by removing the tops and scooping out the insides.

  2. In a saucepan, melt the butter and cook the shallots on low heat until soft, without browning.

  3. Add the chopped tomatoes and mushrooms, cooking until the moisture is reduced.

  4. Stir in the reduced Allemande sauce, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.

  5. Remove from heat and mix in the yolks of the eggs.

Stuff and bake

  1. Stuff the prepared tomatoes with the mixture and sprinkle with additional bread crumbs.

  2. Arrange the stuffed tomatoes in a flat baking dish and drizzle with sweet oil.

  3. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until browned.

  4. Serve with a puree of tomatoes around the dish.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Shallot + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,982 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Tomato + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,719 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,525 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Yolks bind the filling and help it set lightly when baked.
Butter
Fat that softens the shallots and adds richness to the filling.
Mushrooms
Release moisture as they cook, adding earthy flavor and body to the filling.
Reduced allemande sauce
Adds a rich, creamy body and savory flavor to the filling.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and give the filling structure and a browned topping.

The step that matters

Cook the shallots gently without browning. Low heat softens the shallots and builds sweetness without bitterness. Browning them would add harsh flavor and alter the delicate filling.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shallot, butter, mushroom, sauce, bread, pepper, egg):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Capsicumfits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shallot, butter, mushroom, sauce, bread, pepper, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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