There has been a bonanza in tomatoes around here this month, thanks to our friends Brian and Diane. They gave us a lot of their garden excess of tomatoes because they knew I would put them to good use and indeed I did. I took twenty pounds and made Roasted Tomato Soup and froze it in batches. We then had one of our favorite dinners, Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes and Pancetta.
The mother lode of tomatoes and then cut and ready to be roasted
I also made this vegetarian version of stuffed tomatoes. They are flavored with capers and toasted pine nuts and contain no meat. They make a nice side dish for grilled meats.
As I've said before, don't use capers packed in vinegar - use the ones packed in salt. They are much better and will give you the flavor you need for this dish.
Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Capers, Pine Nuts
for a printable recipe, click here
serves about 4
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs *
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon capers packed in salt, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* Make your own fresh bread crumbs by simply grinding up bread in your food processor.
Instructions:
Slice the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Place tomatoes on paper towels, cut side down, to drain for about 30 minutes.
In a small skillet over medium high heat, toast the pine nuts lightly until just golden brown. Be careful not to burn.
In a small bowl, toss together the pine nuts, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper, capers and parsley. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil and toss.
Stuff the tomatoes with this mixture and place them in a baking dish that is sprayed with a little non-stick spray. Drizzle the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil over the tomatoes. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, until the tops are nicely golden. Scatter with additional chopped parsley on top to serve.
