1. Bring a medium-size saucepan of water to a boil. Core each tomato and cut a small X across the bottom. Blanch in the boiling water to just loosen the skin but not cook the tomato, about 5 seconds. Immediately dip the tomato into a bowl of ice water until cold.

2. Peel and quarter each tomato. Use a paring knife to scrape out all the seeds and pulp, leaving only the firm, outer shell of the tomato. Cut into very neat dice, as called for the recipe.