Jun 03, 2015

Oven Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes

This is a traditional recipe from my childhood in France. As the summer brought the most flavorful tomatoes, I simply couldn’t get enough of these bursts of flavor!

Ingredients:

12 large Ripe Tomatoes (peppers and zucchini are great as well)
1 lb. of Ground Pork Sausage (ground beef/turkey/chicken are great substitutes)
2 large Onions, diced (should be about 2 cups)
2 Fresh Eggs
5 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 cups of Fresh Bread Crumbs, unseasoned
1 tbsp Herbes de Provence
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Before Starting:

With the residual heat of your oven, no fire or embers, aim for a temperature between 400° F and 500° F.

Use the insulated door of your oven to retain all the moisture and flavor. This will also allow you to cook at a higher temperature to get lightly caramelized tomatoes and maximum flavor.

A great way to make fantastic fresh bread crumbs is to cut thin slices of leftover bread about 1/4″ thick, and place on a cookie tray in your brick oven. Let them toast until golden or light brown. Simply place in a large bowl and gently crush them with a rolling pin.

Voila!

Recipe:

Rinse the tomatoes. Remove about 1/2″ of the top part of the tomatoes, where the stem was attached. Keep those as they will be used to make a lid on top of your stuffed tomatoes.
With a spoon, core out the inside of the tomatoes to remove all of the seeds and juice. Put a little bit of salt in the tomatoes and set them up side down on a grate above a pan or the sink to catch the juice.
In a mixing bowl, combine ground sausage, diced unions, bread crumbs, eggs, minced garlic, Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper. Mix by hand until all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
Stuff the tomatoes so they are slightly over filled and place them in a lightly oiled dish. Metal or clay dishes are great as long as they are oven-safe.
Place the tomato caps on top of the freshly stuffed tomatoes and bake for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on your oven’s heat. The internal temperature will be 165° F and the tomatoes will be golden brown in color.