Early Tomatoes Pair Well with Herb Couscous and Miso Mayonnaise
Early season tomatoes aren’t nearly as flavorful as those later in the summer, but they have two qualities that make them a welcome centerpiece for a late spring dish. They’re attractive, especially after months cooking with winter vegetables, and they’re firm, so they can stand up to handling that would turn a fully ripe tomato to mush.
With a little bit of care, a medium-sized early tomato is perfect to hold a light stuffing. I’ve chosen a simple herbed couscous, which gets made in advance. Preparing the tomato involves just scooping out its innards from the stem end, peeling it, and carefully filling it with the couscous. The tomato itself isn’t cooked other than a brief spell in boiling water so the skin can be peeled away.
To keep each tomato as intact as possible I find it best to score and plunge the tomato in boiling water first, shock it in cold water, and then scoop out its central cavity before stripping off the peel. Even in its loosened state after boiling, the peel acts to protect the meat of the fruit while the seeds and ribs are scraped out.
You’ll find that to loosen the skin enough for easy peeling the immersion in boiling water needs to be longer than with fully ripe tomatoes, taking a minute or more. Late in the summer a ripe tomato’s skin will slip off after just fifteen or twenty seconds in boiling water.
Because early tomatoes are a little underwhelming in the flavor department, a light mayonnaise makes an excellent accompaniment. I’m using aquafaba as the mayonnaise’s emulsifier so the dish remains vegan, and choose miso for the primary flavor in the mayo. It has a light, haunting taste that makes the dish more complex without stealing the spotlight from the tomato. The miso paste includes all the salt that’s needed to season the mayo, so no additional salt gets added. With most mayo recipes I include a little xanthan to thicken the sauce, but xanthan here would be overkill because the miso acts as a thickener as well as a flavoring agent.
To punctuate the dish with some briny richness I’ve added a few dry-cured olives. If you don’t have any of those, try stirring some capers into the couscous instead.
When choosing garnishes to put on the sauce, a light hand works best. Otherwise the garnish will become the focus of attention rather than the tomato. At least where I live, the first chervil of the year is ready to harvest in late spring, so I’ve chosen that.
Vegan Miso Mayonnaise with Tomatoes Filled with Herbed Couscous Recipe
Serves 6
2 T miso paste
1/4 c (60 g) aquafaba
1 T (15 g) white vinegar
1 t (5 g) Dijon mustard
2 T (60 g) water
1 c (240 g) neutral oil (like Canola, safflower, or vegetable oil)
1-2 T (13-26 g) olive oil
1/2 c (90 g) couscous
1/4 t (1.5 g) salt
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 c (120 g) water
1-2 T soft leafy herb (parsley, basil, chervil, or the leaves of a celery heart), minced
6 medium-sized tomatoes
Miso Mayonnaise
In the bowl of a stand blender put the miso paste, aquafaba, vinegar, mustard, and two tablespoons of water. Blenderize them until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender bowl as needed. Use a spatula to press the mixture through a fine strainer, then wash the blender bowl. Return the strained mixture to the blender. If the mixture doesn’t cover the blades, add enough water so that it does.
Turn the blender up to medium speed. Starting very slowly (about a teaspoon of oil at a time) add the oil and let the blender process it into the water-based ingredients, which it will do almost instantly. Continue adding oil slowly at first, then after a few seconds add it more rapidly. The entire addition should take at least 10 seconds, but doesn’t need to be drawn out much beyond that so long as the initial oil is added in small quantities.
If the mayonnaise becomes thicker than you want it before all the oil is incorporated, add a teaspoonful of water, which will loosen the mixture. If after adding all the oil the mayonnaise is thinner than you’d like, turn the blender back on and drizzle in more oil.
Transfer the mayonnaise to a container and keep it chilled until service. It can be made up to several days in advance and held in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Couscous salad
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the couscous and salt and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes. As soon as the pasta changes color slightly, turn the heat up to high, add the minced shallots, and immediately add the water, stirring to separate the couscous grains in the liquid. As soon as the water boils (which happens instantly if you’re using a heavy saucepan), remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let it steam for ten minutes. Then stir to fluff the pasta and separate the grains. Stir in the minced herbs. Add a little more olive oil if desired. This can be prepared up to 12 hours in advance.
Prepping and plating the tomatoes
Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil. Score each tomato by cutting a shallow ‘X’ across the stem-end of the fruit, barely cutting through the skin. One at a time, lower each tomato in the boiling water and leave it there 45-60 seconds, depending on how large and firm the tomatoes are. Once the skin begins to split (indicating the bond of the skin to the flesh of the tomato has weakened), remove the tomato and shock it in cold water.
Cut the stem end out of each fruit, just like carving the top piece of a jack-o’-lantern out, but on a smaller scale. Hold each fruit in the palm of your hand and use a small melon baller to scoop out the seeds and ribs without damaging the outer flesh, then peel the skin off of each tomato. The tomatoes can be prepared to this point up to an hour ahead.
When ready to serve, use a funnel to spoon the couscous salad into each fruit. Don’t pack the pasta in; leave the tomatoes loosely stuffed. With the stem end down, paint each tomato lightly with olive oil. Put two tablespoons of the miso mayonnaise on each plate and spread it into whatever shape is desired. Place one tomato on each plate’s mayonnaise. Garnish as desired. Serve at room temperature.
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