Belgium's classic summer starter: a large beefsteak tomato hollowed out and stuffed with tiny North Sea grey shrimp bound in a light mayonnaise, served chilled on butter lettuce with a wedge of lemon and fresh parsley.

Tomate aux crevettes emerged in Belgian brasseries in the early 20th century as a simple way to showcase the country's two best summer ingredients: ripe tomatoes brought in by the Brussels-Antwerp trade routes, and the tiny North Sea grey shrimp (Crangon crangon) hand-peeled by fishermen's families along the Belgian coast in De Panne, Oostduinkerke and Zeebrugge. The shrimp are hand-peeled and significantly smaller than American or Mediterranean shrimp; the texture is irreplaceable. The dish became codified as a Belgian summer classic and appears on every Antwerp brasserie menu from June through September.

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Make it at home

Serves 445 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 4 large ripe beefsteak tomatoes (about 250g each), best in season (July to September)
  • 400g hand-peeled North Sea grey shrimp (Hollandse garnalen, sold frozen at Belgian and Dutch supermarkets; substitute with cooked small Atlantic prawns chopped to 5mm pieces if grey shrimp unavailable)
  • 150g good quality Belgian mayonnaise (or homemade with whole egg)
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tsp finely chopped dill
  • Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 head butter lettuce (Boston or Bibb), leaves separated and washed
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs (sliced into wedges)
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • Small handful of microgreens or pea shoots
  • Fresh dill sprigs for garnish
  • Optional: 4 thin slices of buttered grey bread or Belgian witbrood

Method

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and score a small X in the bottom of each tomato.
  2. Plunge the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds, then transfer immediately to a bowl of iced water; the skin will slip off cleanly.
  3. Peel the tomatoes carefully, removing all skin but keeping the stem intact.
  4. Slice off the top 1cm of each tomato (saving the lid).
  5. Use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out the seeds and inner flesh, leaving a sturdy shell about 1cm thick. Salt the inside of each tomato lightly and turn upside down on paper to drain for 15 minutes.
  6. Make the shrimp mixture: combine the mayonnaise, Dijon, chopped herbs, lemon zest, lemon juice and cayenne in a bowl. Fold in the grey shrimp very gently with a rubber spatula; do not crush. Season with salt and white pepper.
  7. Chill the shrimp mixture 15 minutes for the flavours to integrate.
  8. Pat the drained tomato shells dry. Arrange butter lettuce leaves on each plate as a base.
  9. Place a tomato on each plate, spoon the shrimp mixture generously into each tomato cavity, mounding above the rim (the structural look is overflowing).
  10. Set the tomato 'lid' jauntily on top, balanced at an angle.
  11. Garnish around each tomato with 2 hard-boiled egg wedges, a few microgreens, a lemon wedge and a fresh dill sprig.
  12. Serve immediately, chilled, with a slice of buttered grey bread on the side.

Editor tip. Real Belgian grey shrimp (Hollandse garnalen) are 1cm long, sweet and intensely flavoured; American salad shrimp or chopped large prawns are an acceptable substitute but the texture is wrong. Hand-peel any commercially-shell-on grey shrimp; that is the Belgian-coastal tradition.

Common allergens: Shellfish, Egg.