This recipe was practically made for a food steamer and it’s one that
would make the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man proud. He always
ate his spinach, and now you can, too, with this wonderful combination
of tomato, spinach and cheese.
It shouldn’t take you too long to make this dish; maybe 10 or 15 minutes
prep time and another 15 or 20 minutes cooking time. Once you get the
recipe put together, your hands will be free to work on other dishes for
your meal. That’s one of the great things about a food steamer – you
won’t burn your food if you don’t get back to it right on time. Just
make sure your steamer has enough water in it to last for the allotted
amount of cooking time and then some.
Steamed Stuffed Tomatoes Popeye Style
Ingredients:
6 large tomatoes,
1 10 ounce (300g) package of frozen spinach (can use fresh)
1 tablespoon of soft cream cheese (do not use nonfat cream
cheese)
1 large egg
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of grated nutmeg
How You Do It:
Place the spinach in a small bowl on the rack of a food steamer and
steam it for 5 or 6 minutes; until it is limp and hot. Remove the
spinach and squeeze out the extra juice, then chop it and set aside. If
you prefer and can find it, you can use pre-chopped frozen spinach.
Remove the stems from the tomatoes if they have any, and slice the top
off of them (about an inch thick) and set them aside. Use a spoon
(preferably a grapefruit spoon) or something to take out the heart of
the tomato (the seeds and the pulp). You can set this aside for later
use such as a salad. Salt the inside of the tomatoes the turn the upside
down to drain on a paper plate or paper towel.
Beat the large egg with the soft cream cheese. If you are having a
problem getting the egg and the cream cheese to blend together, try
adding some plain unsweetened yogurt a spoonful at a time until the
mixture blends together.
Add the chopped spinach to the egg and cream cheese mixture and add salt
and pepper to your liking plus a pinch of the grated nutmeg.
Tip: A pinch is generally considered to be the amount of spice or herb
that you can pick up between your index finger, your second finger and
your thumb. Picking the spice or herb up between the index finger and
the thumb only would be considered a small pinch.
Use the egg and cream cheese mixture to stuff the tomatoes, dividing the
mixture up evenly among all of the tomatoes. Put the lid on top of the
tomatoes (the slice you cut off earlier) and place them in the food
steamer on a rack. Note: If you only have a steaming basket, set the
basket in a large pan of boiling water. Steam the spinach stuffed
tomatoes for 15 to 20 minutes; until the tomatoes are very soft. Serve
while still hot.
This makes a great side dish for just about any meal.
