KALE/CASHEW STUFFED TOMATOES – Dinner Tonight

The centerpiece for dinner tonight is going to be kale/cashew-stuffed tomatoes.  This is a recipe that I have made three times already — it was a hit with my room-mate from Day One!   (I am surprised that I haven’t posted it yet, but… better late than never!)   Here it is:

CASHEW/KALE PATE STUFFED TOMATOES
based on a recipe found at naturallivingcuisine.com

2 lg heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes, washed, tops cut off, and center carved out (save for salad or for topping the tomato extravaganza
1 C cashews, soaked and rinsed
2 C kale, chopped fine
2 – 3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 C onion, chopped
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1 C fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Sprinkle inside of tomatoes with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Thoroughly combine remaining ingredients in the food processor and process fine.
Stuff tomatoes with cashew-kale blend.
Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired..

NOTE:You can make this up to 24 hrs. in advance – place in a covered container, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Remove from the refrigerator 1 hr. before serving.

The first time I made this, I used one heirloom tomato (they are very large), and I ended up cutting it in half, because we just don’t eat food that heavy in one meal.  The second time, I got an “ugly tomato” — that is what it was called at the market  – it looked pretty much like an heirloom, was cheaper,  and was even larger than an heirloom!  I still cut it in half.  Today,  I just got two beefsteaks, because they were very red.)

When I have made this before,  I have come up with extra kale/cashew pate.  Because I am unreliable when it comes to serving leftovers, I always form patties or balls (depending on what is left-over) and dehydrate them for later. I refrigerate the dehydrated patties or balls for later in the week — this works out well for me, since I work on weekends, and would rather not have to think about what to put in the lunch box.

If you have the choice  between heirlooms and beefsteaks, or other tomatoes,  the heirlooms are actually easier to work with, because their walls tend to be thicker, and the interior is easier to cut out, and less juice tends to pool in the bottom of the hollowed out tomato (in my experience).  If an heirloom is  too large for one serving for you,  you can cut it in half and either share the other half or refrigerate for the next day.