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Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp)
Ripe tomatoes hollowed out and heaped with tiny North Sea grey shrimp folded through homemade mayonnaise and parsley, set on lettuce with the tomato cap as a lid.
Belgian · easy · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 0 min
~418 cal · 20g protein · 6g carbs · 36g fat · 2g fiber · 4g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Tomate crevettes, or tomaat garnaal in Flemish, is one of the great Belgian brasserie classics, and on the coast at Ostend and the other seaside towns it is on nearly every menu. The idea could not be simpler: a ripe tomato is hollowed out and filled to overflowing with grey shrimp bound in mayonnaise, then set on a few lettuce leaves.
The shrimp are what make it Belgian. Grey shrimp, Crangon crangon, are tiny, sweet North Sea shrimp that are boiled in seawater on the boats as soon as they are caught and then peeled, traditionally by hand. At Oostduinkerke they are still fished by men on horseback who wade the horses chest-deep into the surf, dragging nets behind them, a practice UNESCO lists as intangible cultural heritage.
Belgian cooks insist on homemade mayonnaise, a little parsley and a grind of pepper, and not much else, so the sweetness of the shrimp comes through. It is eaten as a starter, or with a bowl of fries as a light summer lunch.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 4 ripe round tomatoes, medium-large
- 300 g peeled cooked grey shrimp (North Sea shrimp)Hard to find? 300 g the smallest cooked peeled shrimp you can find (such as Greenland prawns) - milder and less sweet than grey shrimp; chop them if they are large
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 150 ml sunflower oil
- 2 tsp lemon juice, plus lemon wedges to serve
- 1/2 shallot, very finely chopped, optional
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- a pinch salt
- to taste black or white pepper
- 1 small head soft butterhead lettuce leaves
Instructions
- 1Slice a thin sliver off the base of each tomato so it stands up. Cut off the top 1 cm as a lid and keep it. Scoop out the seeds and core with a teaspoon without piercing the walls, salt the insides lightly and turn the tomatoes upside down on kitchen paper to drain while you make the mayonnaise.
- 2Whisk the egg yolk with the mustard and a pinch of salt, then add the oil drop by drop at first, then in a thin stream, whisking all the time until thick and glossy. Whisk in the lemon juice.✎ Chef’s noteIf it splits, whisk a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and beat the split mayonnaise into it a spoonful at a time.
- 3Gently fold the shrimp, parsley and the shallot if using into about 4 tbsp of the mayonnaise, just enough to bind them. Season with pepper and a little more lemon.
- 4Pat the insides of the tomatoes dry and fill them generously with the shrimp, heaping it above the rim.
- 5Arrange the lettuce on plates, set the tomatoes on top, lean the lids against them and serve cold with lemon wedges, the rest of the mayonnaise, and bread or fries.
Belgian coastal brasserie tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Flanders. Beer is treated as an ingredient with a job to do. Dark ale gives carbonnade its sweetness, and the sharp edge comes from a slice of bread spread thickly with mustard and laid on top of the pot, which collapses into the sauce and thickens it while the beef cooks down.
🗺️
Belgium. Beer culture in Belgium was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016, and the inscription counts almost 1,500 beers made by several different fermentation methods, notes the Trappist breweries that pass profits to charity, and records that beer goes into the cooking as well as the glass, including cheeses washed in it. Liege and Brussels waffles are two different products, not two names for one.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Belgium
Carbonnade FlamandeBeef braised in dark Belgian beer with onions and a mustard-slathered slice of bread, sweet-sour, deep, and made for frites.
Belgian WafflesDeep-pocketed waffles, crisp outside and fluffy within, dusted with sugar or topped with fruit.
Moules-FritesA steaming pot of mussels cooked in white wine and shallots, served with a heap of crisp Belgian fries.
Browse all Belgium recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp)?
Ripe tomatoes hollowed out and heaped with tiny North Sea grey shrimp folded through homemade mayonnaise and parsley, set on lettuce with the tomato cap as a lid.
Where does Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp) come from?
Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp) is a Belgian dish from Flanders, Belgium.
Can Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tomate Crevettes (Belgian Tomatoes Stuffed with Grey Shrimp) take to make?
About 30 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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