Sanctuary from the Mad World

Watermelon & Feta Salad; Stuffed Tomatoes

May 17, '08 5:26 AM
for everyone

Category:

Side Dishes & Condiments

Description:
OK, this is another what-we-had-for-dinner posting but I can't wait to share the recipes with you.

As an Asian, the idea of combining sweet and salty, fruit and cheese is foreign. I was very skeptical until I had my first bite of creamy cheese with grape. Then it was love at the first bite. It's still not something I crave for in time of distress but I get to really appreciate the theory behind the pairing and allow me to venture into challenging territories for my cooking ideas.

One of the best fruit-cheese combination in my view is watermelon and feta. The sweet watermelon brings out the creaminess in feta (feta is not normally associated with creaminess) and tempers its saltiness. Its sandy texture slathers the tongue with, well, uniquely sandy sensation in every bite. The feta also adds depth and dimension to the often flat sweetness of the watermelon (I hate watermelon for that reason: either it's overly sweet, overly sour, or the worst, plain tasteless). Once the salad is gone, what's left is a pretty orange/pink oil and juice remains, full of salty-sweet flavour, perfect for dipping crusty breads into. It's a great summer dish when the days are hot and watermelons abundant.

In its Greek spirit, I paired that with a recipe I modified from Culinaria Greece. I made a mistake of using smallish tomatoes when it calls for the huge, fat Beefsteak Tomatoes. Anyhow, the results were wonderful in both texture and fragrant. The plump, slightly roasted rice was al-dente and the smell from a combination of onion, mint, and olive oil in tomatoes were just mouth-watering. Be warned that this dish is simple and it relies heavily on the flavour of good tomatoes so expect blandness if using less-than-stellar produce. On a hindsight, this particular dish is a perfect companion to a piece of grilled meat seasoned simply with salt and pepper rather than as a main vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:
Watermelon and feta salad

A wedge (approx. 1/8) of sweet watermelon
100 g of feta in olive oil
A handful of finely-chopped fresh mint
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Tomato juice (optional)

Stuffed Tomatoes

6 tomatoes
1 onion or shallot, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of rice (preferably long-grained but I used my Thai rice)
A handful of finely-chopped mint leaves
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
Watermelon and feta salad
In a large bowl, mix the olive oil (from the feta if possible), feta, coarsely crumbled, and the finely-chopped mint about an hour before serving.

Cut the watermelon into bite-sized pieces and place in the oil bowl. Mix carefully to avoid mashing the watermelon and aggravating the feta further. Season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Add more olive oil if necessary (be generous). Serve immediately.

Stuffed Tomatoes
Cut a slice off the top of the tomatoes to form a lid. With a small spoon, scoop up the flesh and seeds of tomatoes and puree them.

In a pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onions. Stir in the rice, season with salt and pepper, fry briefly and add half (or all, depending on how juicy your tomatoes are) of the pureed tomato flesh. Bring briefly to boil, then remove the pan from the heat and allow the rice to swell a little (the mixture will thicken). Stir in the mint and fill two-thirds of the tomatoes cavity with the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Place the tomatoes in an ovenproof dish, season overall with salt and pepper, pour a little more olive oil and the remaining pureed tomatoes (or if none is left, replace it with tomato juice). Place the lids on the tomatoes and bake them in the oven for about 3/4 to 1 hour. Then remove the lids and bake a further 10 minutes to brown the filling. Remove the tomatoes from the oven, replace the lids and serve hot.

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23 CommentsChronological Reverse Threaded

yikk wrote on May 17

Oooh... the stuffed tomatoes would be good in cold weather like we're having now. I'll keep the salad recipe for warmer days :) Thanks, Ven!

kucingkembar wrote on May 17

mouth watering! i drool at the tantalizing pictures!!

csakura wrote on May 17, edited on May 17

orange and cheese work well too as salad (for me) heheheh.. this recipe is so simple, I think I could work it up here one day (depends on whether I could get the cheese or not ;P). Should be very very refreshing on hot days like now.

the stuffed tomatoes look gorgeous, reminds me of the ones I had in Mykonos Taverna. =D

escoklat wrote on May 17

wow...iyah..gue liet foto nya udah gleper2..keren :D pasti enak deh

bookshop wrote on May 17

yikk said

the stuffed tomatoes would be good in cold weather like we're having now.

Di sana mulai dingin yah :D. Silahkan :D

bookshop wrote on May 17

kucingkembar said

mouth watering! i drool at the tantalizing pictures!!

Tee..hee...

bookshop wrote on May 17

csakura said

orange and cheese work well too as salad (for me)

Orange and cheese huh? Will try, thanks! Yes, it's so simple but the combination is amazing :D I used to buy feta in Sogo :p

bookshop wrote on May 17

escoklat said

wow...iyah..gue liet foto nya udah gleper2..keren :D pasti enak deh

Tee..hee... thanks!

setiyono wrote on May 17

Ven, blm pernah cobain pairing watermelon dengan cheese nih....
itu fetanya udah di mix di olive oil dulu, plus masih ditambah olive oil lagi di watermelonnya ya?

ronn1 wrote on May 17

Wah, keliatan seger banget ya ..terutama Stuffed Tomatoes nya. Kebayang rasanya asem-asem seger gitu.
Bagus foto-fotonya Ven, cerah banget. Dipinggir jendela yah ? ;))

bookshop wrote on May 18

setiyono said

itu fetanya udah di mix di olive oil dulu, plus masih ditambah olive oil lagi di watermelonnya ya?

Jadi feta yg gue beli itu feta yg direndam olive oil. Daripada minyaknya dibuang, dipake aja. Kalau kurang, baru ditambah olive oil biasa lagi :D.

bookshop wrote on May 18

ronn1 said

Dipinggir jendela yah ? ;))

Gue tunggu sampai kapan joke ini berlalu yah? :D :D :D

Iya, stuffed tomatoesnya begitu, asam2 segar.

kerinci12 wrote on May 18

stuffed tomatoes-nya bikin ngiler V...

awam wrote on May 18

WOOOWW... enak2 tuh keliatannya.. secara abah tomato-mania... jangankan diolah.. dimakan begitu aja juga asyikk..

bookshop wrote on May 18

kerinci12 said

stuffed tomatoes-nya bikin ngiler V...

Bikin dong.. kan bentar lagi musim tomat? :D

bookshop wrote on May 18

awam said

jangankan diolah.. dimakan begitu aja juga asyikk..

Yah abah :))

csakura wrote on May 18

bookshop said

Orange and cheese huh? Will try, thanks! Yes, it's so simple but the combination is amazing :D I used to buy feta in Sogo :p

yeah I just browsed the cheese section yesterday and found a few types/brands. Yang lo pake itu yg olive oil-nya ada herbs-nya bukan? soalnya gue nemunya yang ada herbs-nya gituh.

bookshop wrote on May 19

csakura said

Yang lo pake itu yg olive oil-nya ada herbs-nya bukan?

Iya. Parsley sama apa gitu, gue lupa :D

csakura wrote on May 19

oh gitu. thanks!

linklist wrote on Jun 9

Bookshop, barusan baca di komentarnya lidiatanod, kamu punya resep bayem (si encim) itu. Boleh minta tolong dicatetin gak resepnya? Kalo bisa, makasih berat yah!

bookshop wrote on Jun 9, edited on Jun 9

linklist said

resep bayem

Oooh, gampang sekali. Gini:
150 g spinach, roots discarded and cut into 2 parts, stalks and leaves
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Bring a pot of water to boil and sprinkle some salt. Place the spinach in, stalk first. When stalks are almost done, add leaves. Remove from heat as soon as water comes to boil again.

Rinse spinach in ice-cold water and drain. Squeeze out any excess water with your hands.

Cut spinach into shorter sections and mix with crushed garlic, salt and sesame oil. Toss well then sprinkle some sesame seeds.

Serve or store for up to a day in the fridge.

Selamat mencoba!

Resep dari Feast of Flavours from the Korean Kitchen

lidiatanod wrote on Jun 10

bookshop said

Selamat mencoba!

Oh gitu ya rupanya, jadi gak ditumis ya... thanks lagi Ven! :*

bookshop wrote on Jun 10

lidiatanod said

jadi gak ditumis ya...

Kagak Lid, direbus doang.

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Sanctuary from the Mad World