I went to the grocery store to look for inspiration. I needed an idea for a simple finger food that would be a good sandwich substitute in a semi-formal setting. The first thing that got my attention was a large package of vibrant red on-the-vine tomatoes. They were smaller, but not too small. As I am not great at delicate, repetitive tasks beyond making a dozen of anything, the thought of stuffing cherry or grape tomatoes had absolutely no appeal. However, I needed finger foods, so anything larger would have been too big.
As I stood staring at the package of tomatoes, my husband came up (probably to see if I was ever going to move on) so I shared my dilemma: I thought these would be great to serve stuffed, but I wasn’t sure what stuffing to use. He reminded me of how much he enjoyed an egg salad stuffed tomato at a couple of weeks before. He had a large, split tomato on a bed of lettuce with a generous scoop of egg salad in the middle, but I thought the scaled back concept might actually work for the event.
I took a package of tomatoes home for a trial run. The result was a tasty, semi-elegant finger-friendly plate.
I decided to fill half with the egg salad and the other half with tuna salad. Both were easy and delicious.
The tomatoes were round enough that they rolled around on a flat surface. My eight-year-old came to the rescue with the perfect solution, a deviled egg dish. The tomatoes fit perfectly in the individual egg areas. I could even pick up the dish and walk around without the slightest tomato movement.
Oh yeah, maybe I should have already mentioned that my husband and my sister do not like my egg salad ๐ They do not like the mustard and relish that I put in my egg salad. Therefore, I had my husband make the egg salad so he couldn’t complain.
I am sharing the ingredients for both versions of the egg salad (my additions are starred). I have provided general measurements for the condiments, but you should adjust to your taste. However, it is easier to stuff the tomatoes if the salad is a little loose, but not too runny.
Of course, you can stuff tomatoes with any of the salads: tuna, ham, chicken, pimento cheese, cucumber, roast beef, etc.
Enjoy!