Stuffed Tomatoes

Leonardi identifies himself with Naples in this recipe – he was obviously proud of the local tomatoes and handles them with affectionate familiarity. Elsewhere he notes that a good chenef (for use in dumplings or stuffing) should be made of equal quantities of chicken, butter, and breadcrumbs, bound with egg yolks. Such simple recipes seem to come more easily to him than the exotica of France and Russia.

Use small Sicilian tomatoes if available, or our own variety, but make s