Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
In summer when ripe tomatoes abound, I like to cut the large ones in half and top them with a flavorful mixture of ingredients and leftovers from my refrigerator. This version is vegetarian as that is what I had on hand, but you can add sausage, ham or chicken to your mixture.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups leftover bread, roughly cut into ¼-inch cubes
- 1 large egg, preferably organic
- ½ cup cooked spinach
- ¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
- ¼ cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 white mushrooms, coarsely chopped (about ⅓ cup)
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large tomatoes (about 8 ounces each)
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, mix the bread and egg together and coat the bread. Add the spinach, Swiss cheese, onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Season with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and pepper. Mix well to create a stuffing.
- Cut the tomatoes in half. Arrange the tomatoes, cut-side up, in a gratin dish. You can also cut a small slice from the bottom ends so that they sit flat. Season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Using your hands or a spoon, mound the stuffing on top of each tomato half and press to keep it in place. Drizzle with more oil and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
- Bake until the tomatoes are cooked through, and the tops are golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Drizzle with a little more oil, if you like, and serve.
Recipe Source
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