• 4 very large firm tomatoes
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper
• butter
• a little parsley
• 2 oz. (60 g.) mushrooms, chopped finely or 2 oz. (60 g.) shrimps
• 2 oz. (60 g.) butter

Wash and then cut a slice off the top of each tomato and scoop out the inside. Be careful not to break the skin anywhere. Sprinkle the inside of the tomato with salt and pepper. Break an egg into each, top each egg with a sprinkling of parsley, some mushrooms or shrimps, and two or three dabs of butter. Replace the top slices of the tomatoes and stand them in a thickly-buttered fireproof dish and bake for 10–15 minutes at 350° F., gas mark 4. Spoon the butter and juice from the dish over the tomatoes at least three times during cooking and add a little more butter if necessary. The eggs should be soft and the tomatoes just wrinkled when served.