Stuffed Tomatoes and Baked Salmon Fans

I think I may have mentioned in my previous post, it’s the middle of Summer. I was fortunate to spend some time recently at the beach enjoying quiet days of reading, walking and just enjoying some great meals. We are very fortunate to live in an area where beautiful seafood and seasonal produce is so readily available.

I decided to make the most of the time and tried my hand at Stuffed Tomatoes and Baked Salmon Fans. These recipes can both be found in Amanda Tabberer’s Amalfi Coast Recipes, a book I picked up from the library recently. I would definitely say this is a recipe book perfect for summer. Flicking through the recipes, the images jumped up from the page and often evoke images of the sea. What I love about them is they generally are not too taxing or require you to slave away in a hot kitchen for hours on end. The key is to put the tomatoes in the oven first and 15 minutes before they are ready, place the salmon in.

The wonderful thing about the two recipes Stuffed Tomatoes, and Baked Salmon is they can be cooked in the same oven at the same time making preparation and serving quite easy. Salmon, while an odd choice for an Italian cook book, is a readily available fish in Australia and easy to source.

The flavours are wonderful, combing that beautiful fresh salty flavour of summer, the aromatics of the herbs of the salmon subtle yet packed full of flavour. I served them with a garden salad.

Enjoy! x

Stuffed Tomatoes
Pomodoro Sorrentino Imbottitio

Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Storage: Serve immediately

6 large tomatoes
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
200g arborio rice
500ml boiling water
50g salted capers, rinsed, drained and finely chopped
10 basil leaves, finely chopped
Anchovy Fillets in olive oil chopped
50g black and green olives, finely chopped
150g cow’s milk mozzarellza cut into 6 cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan-forced).
2. Carefully remove the top each tomato with a serrated knife This acts as the lid to the tomato, set them aside. Taking care to keep the tomatoes intact, gently scoop out their pulp with a spoon – keeping to the side to use for the filling.
3. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook until softened. Add the rice and stir until coated in the oil, then add the reserved tomato pulp and the boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes or until the rice is half-cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the rice mixture to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the capers, basil, anchovy, olives and salt, to taste.
4. Spoon the rice mixture into the tomato cases and press a piece mozzarella into middle of the filling. Cover with the tomato lids.
5. Pour a little extra oil into a baking dish, add the stuffed tomatoes in a single layer and drizzle with a little more oil. Bake for 25 minutes or until tender.
6. Enjoy!

Baked Salmon Fans
Salmone Ventaglio

Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 10- 15 minutes + 30 to stand
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Storage: Serve immediately

6 slices of 2 day old ciabatta
1 teaspoon salted capers, rinsed and drained
Handful of flat leaf parsley, washed
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 salmon fillets

1. Place the bread, capers, parsley and garlic in a blender and blitz until combined. If you like a finer crumb you can remove the crust from the ciabatta but I like the texture and flavour the crust
2. Preheat the oven to 180C and line your baking dish with baking paper.
3. To prepare the salmon place them on a board, skin side down and make slits going in the opposite direction to the length, bring the knife right down to the skin.
4. Fill the salmon with the crumb mixture as much as possible.
5. Place the salmon in the baking dish (skin side down) and bake for 15-20 minutes.
6. Remove the salmon from the olive oil and drizzle with the herb dressing below.
7. Serve immediately.
8. Enjoy!

Herb Dressing

Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Storage: Serve immediately

90ml extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Handful of flat leaf parsley, washed and roughly chopped
Handful of mint, washed and roughly chopped

1. In a small bowl mix the ingredients together
2. Enjoy!