Beefsteak tomatoes with garlic and basil & Sole stuffed with leeks and mushrooms

Beefsteak Tomatoes stuffed with garlic and basil

Ingredients:

6 Medium beefsteak tomatoes 
3⁄4 C dry bread crumbs and optional parmesan 
30 leaves basil, chopped 
1 clove garlic, minced 
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped 
1 t. piment d’Espelette or 1⁄4 t. Cayenne pepper 
1 t. salt 
 
Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 375 F (180 C). Trim top 1/3 off tomatoes, and save for another dish. 
• Scoop out seeds and water with teaspoon handle, but leave tomato ribs intact for structural support during baking.
• Mix all other ingredients, sprinkle a bit of salt into bottom of tomatoes, and stuff till piled up on top of tomato. 
• Optionally replace 1/3 of the breadcrumbs with ground parmesan.
• Bake in oiled pan on bottom rack about 30 minutes, using top heat at the end if bread crumbs have not yet browned.

Sole stuffed with leeks and creamy mushrooms:

Ingredients: 

12 small filets of flatfish such as sole, flounder or plaice Or 6 medium filets 

2 leeks 

6 large crimini or button mushrooms
6 small sprigs fresh dill 

1 C heavy cream 

1 C fish stock 

Procedure: 

• Count 3 fillets of sole or flounder for a main course, 2 small or one large for starter. 
• Rinse saved fish bones, cover with cold water and 1/2 C. dry white wine, and bring to boil with one onion, 1 bay leaf, 2 thyme branches, 1 stalk celery and 1 carrot chopped. Reduce to 1-2 cups liquid, strain, and reserve.
• Trim leeks and slice thin rings, then rinse out grit under cold water. Drain well. Melt 1 T butter in a wide saucepan and add leeks. Cover and soften over low heat about 10 minutes with a bay leaf and 4 sprigs fresh thyme. 
• Finely slice the mushrooms after cleaning, and add to leeks with 1 T olive oil. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes. Stir and continue cooking till mushrooms are tender and the pan is quite dry. 
• Add 2 T. chopped fresh dill, chives or tarragon, the cream and stock and bring to simmer. Season with sea salt. Either scoop out leek mix with a slotted spoon, enough to stuff the fish, or pour all through a sieve, saving the sauce. 
• Season filet and place 1 T of leek/mushroom mix at small end of filet, rolling around it, and securing with toothpicks. (Cut large filets in half to have 2 rolls from each.)
  Add extra leeks to cream sauce, season with salt and your choice of chives, tarragon, parsley or dill, and pour all into baking dish just big enough to hold sole rolls. (After rolling fish in following step and placing in dish.) 
• Count 15-20 minutes oven time at 375 F, depending how crowded the baking dish is. Before serving, remove one from center and cut open to be sure they've cooked through. Serve with their cooking liquid as sauce.

Enjoy!