Tomato ladybirds
Tomatoes filled with a tuna mayonnaise and rice mixture, in a fun ladybird shape that kids will love, served with a puree of fresh garden peas. A good way to encourage them to eat vegetables.
1 hour 50 min.
Easy
12 tomatoes
13 IngredientsLast modified on: February 21th 2011
For 12 tomatoes, you will need:
- 1
12 tomatoes - 2
fine (or table) salt - 3
1 ¾ cup peas - 4
6 tablespoons olive oil - 5
2 tablespoons lemon juice - 6
4 radishes - 7
6 tablespoons mayonnaise - 8
½ cup tuna in oil - 9
¾ cup cooked rice - 10
2 bunches chives - 11
20 blacks olives - 12 salt
- 13
pepper
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 40 min.
Cooking: 10 min.
All in all: 1 hour 50 min.
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: 17:45.Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 30 min.
Stage 2 - 5 min.
Remove flesh inside tomatoes with a teaspoon or a pommes parisiennes spoon (easier), and keep all that you remove.
Stage 3 - 3 min.
Stage 4 - 5 min.
Dispcard tomato seeds, keeping the flesh and cut off pieces (minus hard green stalk end), chop roughly, salt and leave to stand in a strainer.
Stage 5 - 10 min.
Boil a pan of salted water, put in 1 ¾ cup peas and cook until soft (2 or 3 minutes usually).
Remove from pan, drain and put into cold water. Drain again when peas are cold, then dry.
Remove from pan, drain and put into cold water. Drain again when peas are cold, then dry.
Stage 6 - 5 min.
Blend peas, and if possible pass through a fine strainer to remove skins and get a very smooth puree.
Stage 7 - 5 min.
Mix 6 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Add 2 tbs of this mix to the pea puree, salt, pepper, and keep covered in the fridge.
Add 2 tbs of this mix to the pea puree, salt, pepper, and keep covered in the fridge.
Stage 8 - 10 min.
Prepare stuffing: cut 4 radishes into very small pieces, put in a bowl, add 6 tablespoons mayonnaise, ½ cup tuna in oil, ¾ cup cooked rice, 2 bunches chives chopped, and the chopped tomato flesh. Mix well.
Stage 9 - 5 min.
Fill tomatoes with this mix.
Stage 10 - 5 min.
Place a tomato upside down on a serving plate, coat with remaining olive oil-lemon juice mix.
Stage 11 - 5 min.
With a very sharp knife, cut out tiny circles of olive, as thin as possible.
Stage 12 - 20 min.
Stick olive circles on tomato to get the ladybird effect. Tip: position them with the point of a knife.
Make the head with 1/2 olive and 2 blades of chives, then surround with pea puree.
Do this with all your tomatoes, and serve without delay.
Make the head with 1/2 olive and 2 blades of chives, then surround with pea puree.
Do this with all your tomatoes, and serve without delay.
Stage 13
For adults you could make a quicker version without olives.
Remarks
With this recipe you will become a god or goddess of cooking for your young children or grand-children. After this they will frequently ask you to make ladybird tomatoes again... To make it a real surprise, close the kitchen door if possible while you cook, and then see their eyes open wide when you put the plates on the table.
To cook rice, use the pilaf method or rice-cooker.
To cook rice, use the pilaf method or rice-cooker.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, covered by a plastic film.
Source: Home made, from a photo seen in a women's magazine a long time ago.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 70 RDI=30 % | 170 RDI=20 % | 450 RDI=70 % | 4,180 RDI=210 % | 17,500 RDI: 210 % |
| Per 100 g | 3 RDI=1 % | 7 RDI=1 % | 20 RDI=3 % | 180 RDI=9 % | 770 RDI: 9 % |
| Per tomatoes | 6 RDI=2 % | 10 RDI=1 % | 40 RDI=6 % | 350 RDI=20 % | 1,460 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 12 tomatoes : 14.25 €
- Per tomatoes : 1.20 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Peas
Like these other recipes: Baked Mont d'Or with diced mixed vegetables, Chicken breasts in a potato crust, Salmon "en papillote" with small vegetables, Chinese Soup, New peas with pesto, ... See them all 20
Tuna in oil
Like these other recipes: Tapenade, Avocado with Tuna, Tuna pasta, Spring courgette and tuna salad, Cretan salad, ... See them all 23
Cooked rice
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Rice and fresh spinach salad, Fried rice with turnips and new peas, New peas with pesto, Tomatoes Provençal, Seared tuna with lemon and lime, ... See them all 27
Black olives
Like these other recipes: Two-olive ciabatta, Greek salad, Pissaladière with puff pastry, Tapenade, Pasta with cherry tomatoes, olives and feta cheese, ... See them all 7
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