Cucumber-Stuffed Tomatoes

A cold stuffed-salad in the style of the 1920s and 30s luncheon table, where the tomato served as its own bowl. Nothing here needs cooking, so success comes down to draining and chilling.

• Peeling tomatoesDrop them in boiling water for 15-30 seconds, then into ice water, and the skins slip off. Choose firm, heavy fruit; a soft tomato will collapse once hollowed.
• "Remove hearts"Cut a lid from the stem end and scoop out the core, seeds and juice with a teaspoon or a melon baller. Keep the flesh, discard most of the watery seed pulp, and reserve the lids if you want to cap the finished tomatoes.
• Salt and drainSalt the insides of the empty shells lightly and stand them upside down on a rack for 15-20 minutes before chilling. This is the difference between a crisp shell and a puddle on the plate.
• "Set shells on ice"In a period kitchen this meant the icebox or a bowl of cracked ice. Half an hour in the refrigerator does the same thing.
• CucumbersThe recipe says "pare," as period recipes generally did; thicker-skinned, seedier field cucumbers were probably the reason. With modern English or Persian cucumbers you can leave the skin on; either way, halve them and scrape out the seeds, then salt the chopped flesh briefly and squeeze it dry.
• French dressingIn American books of this period this means a simple shaken vinaigrette of about three parts oil to one part vinegar with salt and pepper, not the sweet orange bottled dressing sold under that name today.
• Dress at the last minuteToss the filling with dressing and fill the shells just before serving. Held longer, the salt and vinegar draw water out of both vegetables and the filling goes slack.
• Quantity and servingOne tomato per person, as the recipe says, makes a first course or a light lunch salad; two each if it is the main dish. Figure roughly half a medium cucumber per tomato.