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Tamatoes, Menagere
Neatly wipe six even-sized, medium, firm red tomatoes, cut a cover from tops of each, with a spoon scoop out a little only of soft part, and evenly season interior with a half teaspoon each salt and sugar and three saltspoons pepper. Place on a plate a tablespoon each bread crumbs and butter, half teaspoon English mustard, a little freshly chopped parsley and one finely chopped sound shallot. Mix all well together, then evenly divide preparation in cavities of tomatoes, place covers on, arrange on a tin, set in oven for twenty-five minutes, remove, dress on a hot dish and serve.
A plain baked stuffed tomato from the household repertoire, written in the shorthand of a professional kitchen: no oven temperature, and filling quantities that need a second look.
- Oven heatNo temperature is given. Twenty-five minutes suits a moderately hot oven, 375-400F; hotter and the skins split and collapse before the filling sets.
- SaltspoonsA saltspoon is a quarter teaspoon, so three saltspoons is about 3/4 teaspoon of pepper divided among six tomatoes. That is assertive but not unreasonable for the period; halve it if you want the tomato to lead.
- The filling is scantOne tablespoon each of crumbs and butter will barely coat six cavities. Either treat the amounts as per tomato, or multiply by four or five for a filling that reads as stuffing rather than seasoning.
- English mustardMost likely hot dry mustard powder of the Colman's type rather than a mild yellow condiment, though the recipe does not say which. Half a teaspoon of powder is sharp; the same volume of prepared English mustard from a jar would be milder.
- Scoop lightlyThe instruction to remove "a little only" of the soft part is the hinge. Hollowing them out leaves thin walls that slump in the oven; the tomato should hold its own shape on the dish.
- Shallot"Sound" simply means unblemished and not sprouting. Raw shallot in a 25-minute bake stays noticeably pungent; softening it in the butter first gives a rounder result, though the original does not ask for it.
- The tinUse a shallow baking dish or sheet pan just large enough to keep the tomatoes touching and upright. They will release liquid, which is worth spooning over them at the table.
- YieldSix tomatoes, one apiece, as a vegetable course or a garnish for roast or grilled meat.
Menagere is French for housewife, and on a menu it signals the domestic, unfussy treatment: no forcemeat, no truffle, just crumbs, butter, mustard and parsley from the household store. The recipe belongs to a genre of short professional formulas, and the stuffed tomato was a staple of the period's vegetable service, cheap enough for the family table and presentable enough for the restaurant one. The spelling "tamatoes" appears as printed and may be a compositor's slip.