The seeds and pulp making the filling too wet and watery, so I halve my tomatoes and use a teaspoon to scoop out the tomato innards.
In the picture above you can see how juice starts collecting in the scooped out tomato shell. I turn the half tomato shells upside down to drain before I dice them.
Dice the tomato flesh into small ½ cm size pieces.
I used 2 cocktail tomatoes which are similar in size to Irish tomatoes. One Roma tomato will work very well for this recipe. They tend to be more fleshy than other tomatoes so just perfect for making this filling.
No big junks needed for these sambos. Just small little pieces.
Slice the green onions very thinly.
I only use the lower white portions, and stop where they get leafy and turn dark green, about ½ to ⅔’s way up the stalk.
Next shred the lettuce.
I use Butter lettuce since this was the type of lettuce I knew as a child in Ireland. It’s sold in American grocery stores as “living” lettuce.
This lettuce is softer and less crunchy than Romaine or Iceberg lettuce. If you prefer crunchier texture, then use one of these lettuces.
But I stick to Butter lettuce, to make sandwiches like I knew as a child.
Next it’s time to mix all the filling ingredients together.
Place the mashed egg, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and diced green onion on a plate and mix it with the mayonnaise.
Many Irish cooks use salad cream instead of mayonnaise. This is an egg emulsion similar to mayonnaise but with the addition of vinegar and mustard, and a few secret spices only known to Heinz and the makers of Chef salad cream.
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