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Tomatoes Stuffed with Shrimps

Tomatoes stuffed with a butter, breadcrumb, shrimp, and egg mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Tomatoes Stuffed with Shrimps

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the tomatoes

  1. Cut a round piece from the stalk end of each tomato and scoop out the seeds.

  2. In a pan, combine the seeds with butter and seasoning; cook for 5 minutes.

  3. Strain the mixture and stir it into the breadcrumbs.

Fill and serve

  1. Add the chopped shrimps and finely chopped egg; mix well.

  2. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture and replace the tops.

  3. Serve on a bed of lettuce or cress.

  4. Optionally, cook in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5 minutes and serve hot.

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

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

  2. Butter + shrimptop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,931 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  3. Tomato + shrimptop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,689 recipes

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

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes
Hollowed shells that hold the filling and give a fresh, juicy base.
Butter
Adds richness and carries flavour when the tomato seeds are cooked down.
Fresh breadcrumbs
Soak up the strained tomato juices and bind the filling so it holds its shape.
Shrimps
Provide the main savoury flavour and tender texture in the filling.
Hard boiled egg
Adds body and richness to the filling, helping it bind together.

The step that matters

Strain the tomato seed mixture before adding the breadcrumbs. Excess liquid from the seeds would make the breadcrumb filling wet and soggy, so it can't hold its shape or absorb the juices properly. Straining keeps the filling firm enough to stuff the tomatoes.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, shrimp, egg, pepper):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, shrimp, egg, pepper. 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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