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Tomatoes Stuffed with Roast Peppers, Tuna, Capers, and Olives

This version of the Tunisian meshweya (page 85) can be served hot or cold. I prefer it cold.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6

Ingredients

4 red bell peppers
Salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup flaked canned tuna
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup chopped black olives
Peel of 1/2 preserved lemon (page 459), chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
6 large tomatoes

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    For the filling, roast and peel the peppers (see page 84), remove the seeds, and cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide. Mix with the rest of the ingredients except the tomatoes.

    Step 2

    Cut a small circle around the stalk of each tomato and cut out a cap. Remove the pulp and seeds with a pointed teaspoon. Fill with the roast-pepper mixture and replace the caps. Arrange in a shallow baking dish and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20–30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are a little soft, keeping watch so that they do not fall apart.

  2. Variation:

    Step 3

    In Tunisia they may add 1 or 2 garlic cloves, 1 minced hot chili pepper, and 1 teaspoon of tabil (page 48).

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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