Tomatoes for the winter with a surprise
6 servings
30 minutes
A family recipe from our editor Lyudmila Salnikova. The recipe is one of those that were once written down by hand in thick culinary notebooks and passed down through generations. The set of herbs for pickling can be changed and supplemented, for example , by introducing currant or horseradish leaves into it. The main thing here is not the content, but the surprise itself, which is found inside each tomato. But you should not get too carried away - from an excess of additions, the brine becomes cloudy. Opening a jar with a summer dill aroma is especially pleasant in winter, when bad weather rages outside. Although they rarely survive until winter, especially since the recipe is from the category "quickly pickled, quickly eaten": a week after preparation, you can and should start tasting.
1
First, prepare the 'surprise' — a spicy filling that will later be hidden inside the tomatoes. For this, take one sweet pepper, cut off the tip and the bottom, and remove the seeds. Chop the pepper randomly and place it in a blender.
- Bell pepper: 1 piece
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Chili pepper: 2 pieces
2
Add 5 cloves of garlic there (this depends on your love for spicy food; you can reduce or increase the amount of garlic). Set aside about a third of a large bunch of dill, chop the rest, and also put it in the blender.
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Dill: 1 bunch
3
Chop everything in a blender, but not into a puree, so that separate pieces are felt. If there's no blender available (for example, if you're in the village), you can use an old meat grinder to create a surprise.
- Bell pepper: 1 piece
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Chili pepper: 2 pieces
4
Prepare the brine. Pour water into a pot, add salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Water: 1 l
- Salt: 20 g
- Bay leaf: 2 pieces
- Black peppercorns: to taste
5
Make a deep cut on the sides of the tomatoes, but do not cut all the way through. Stuff the cut with a mixture of peppers and garlic.
- Tomatoes: 1.5 kg
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Chili pepper: 2 pieces
6
Place the tomatoes in a sterilized jar and add sprigs and umbrellas of dill.
- Tomatoes: 1.5 kg
- Dill: 1 bunch
- Dill flower heads (umbels): 2 pieces
7
Pour with hot brine, close with a lid, cover with a towel, and after cooling, store in a cool, dark place - the jar can be opened after 5-7 days.
- Water: 1 l
- Salt: 20 g
- Bay leaf: 2 pieces
- Black peppercorns: to taste
