Stuffed Tomatoes with Corn

A four-line vegetable side from a menu-planning book, written for cooks who already knew what to do with a tomato. A few unstated steps are worth filling in.

• OvenThe recipe gives its own number, 375F, which falls within what these books called a moderate oven. Twenty minutes at that heat softens the tomato without collapsing it; go much longer and the shells slump and weep.
• Salt the shellsScoop out the centers, salt the insides, and stand them upside down on a rack for ten minutes before filling. Tomatoes are mostly water, and draining them is the difference between a stuffed tomato and a puddle.
• "Shortening"In this period that means lard, or one of the hydrogenated vegetable fats. Butter is the obvious substitute; two tablespoons across six tomatoes is a small dot on each.
• The cornOne cup of canned corn, drained. Frozen corn works equally well but should be thawed and patted dry, since the filling has no binder and any extra liquid ends up in the tomato.
• "Seasoned"The instruction is doing a lot of work with one word. Beyond the teaspoon of salt, the filling wants pepper and can take a spoonful of the reserved tomato pulp, a little grated onion, or breadcrumbs to give it body.
• Baking dishSet the tomatoes snug in a dish just large enough to hold them upright. Freestanding on a sheet pan they tip and spill.
• YieldSix as a side dish, as stated. It is not substantial enough to serve as a main course without cheese or a grain added to the filling.