Tomato stuffed with chanterelles

(First published 22 August 2010)

This was the other day's tomato, at Union Square. I bought it. It became my tomato. Last night I sliced its top off and scooped out its insides, which tasted very good. I reserved most of them, and lots of juice for Tomatinis.


I bought a punnet of chanterelles from an uncommunicative dude in black leather and shiny sunglasses who had an ice chest full of them.

When I tipped them out of their brown paper bag, at home, this walked out of their accompanying pine needles:

Spiders for supper. My favourite.


After I'd calmed down I chopped some scallions/green onions, parsley, and cubes of slab bacon I had baked last weekend, Hussar-style (long story), and sautéed these along with about a quarter of the tomato's insides. In went the sliced chanterelles. Then added some basmati rice cooked in chicken stock with a squeeze of lemon and tiny bit of brown sugar. I stuffed this all into the empty tomato. Baked for about 3/4's of an hour at 350'F adding a little red wine now and then.