Tomatoes Stuffed with Oyster Mushroom Pâté

Kateryna Bondar
Tomatoes Stuffed with Oyster Mushroom PâtéTomatoes Stuffed with Oyster Mushroom Pâté
Cuisine
Course
Serves 6 people
Prep time
20m
Cook Time
25m

Start at what looks like the end: salt the hollowed tomatoes inside and turn them upside down for ten minutes. That pause decides whether this appetizer holds together — the salt pulls out juice that would otherwise pool under the filling and slacken it on the plate.

Oyster mushrooms beat button mushrooms here. They are denser, they give up almost no water after 5 to 7 minutes in salted water, and once ground and simmered with golden onion, 500 g (a generous pound) cooks down into something close to a pâté with a faint nutty edge. The smetana — full-fat sour cream of about 20% fat; American full-fat sour cream or crème fraîche stands in perfectly — goes in over low heat a few minutes before the end, because a hot pan will split it. Let the filling cool completely before it meets the tomatoes; a warm filling softens the walls from the inside.

  • Keep the scooped-out centers: chop them into the filling at the end of the simmer, or set them aside for soup.
  • Thick plain yogurt can replace the sour cream — brighter in flavor, though the filling sets up a little looser.

Choose small, meaty tomatoes; Romas are ideal, since watery salad varieties have thin walls that collapse under the spoon. Serve cool but not fridge-cold, on a bed of lettuce — chilled hard, the mushroom aroma flattens right out.

Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 464 more recipes in the section.

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Ingredients

  • 500 Grams
    oyster mushrooms
  • 2
    medium onions
  • 3 Tablespoons
    sunflower oil
  • 2 Tablespoons
    sour cream
  • 6
    small firm tomatoes
  • salt, to taste
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • lettuce leaves, for serving
  • fresh herbs (dill, parsley), for garnish

Instructions

  1. Boil the oyster mushrooms in salted water for 5 to 7 minutes, drain in a colander and let all the water run off completely.

  2. Chop the boiled mushrooms into small dice or run them through a meat grinder.

  3. Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the finely chopped onion until golden.

  4. Add the mushrooms to the onion, season with salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

  5. A few minutes before the end, stir in the sour cream, mix well and take the pan off the heat. Let the filling cool completely.

  6. Slice the tops off the tomatoes and carefully scoop out the centers with a spoon. Salt the insides and turn them upside down for 10 minutes so the excess juice drains.

  7. Fill the tomatoes with the cooled mushroom pâté, mounding it slightly.

  8. Line a wide platter with lettuce leaves, arrange the stuffed tomatoes on top and garnish with fresh herbs.

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