Slow-Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes
Preparation info
Difficulty
Easy
Serves
4
Appears in
The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen
Published 2003
We've all seen lots of recipes for slow-roasted stuffed and unstuffed tomatoes. This one, based on an old way of preparing stuffed tomatoes in the receding heat of the baker's oven, is a little different and results in an especially sensual texture. Once again, slow-cooking increases flavor intensity. Here the stuffed tomatoes are left to finish cooking in the receding heat of a turned-off oven, ensuring that any remaining moisture is fully absorbed by the stuffing and that the tomatoes do not collapse.
Ingredients
8 - Coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons ½ cup ¼ cup - Extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Core the tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, and squeeze each half gently over the sink to extract as many seeds as possible. Cut out the insides and reserve for Step 3. Sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon salt over each tomato half, turn them upside down on paper towels on a rack, and leave to drain for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to . Gently squeeze the tomatoes again to rid them of any excess moisture. Lightly oil a shallow baking dish large enough to hold all the tomato halves in one layer. Add the tomatoes, cut sides up, and300°F bake , uncovered, for2½ hours - Chop the reserved insides of the tomatoes. Mix with the garlic, parsley and bread crumbs. Divide into 8 equal parts. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and place one portion into each tomato, pressing down lightly with the back of spoon.
- Drizzle about 1 teaspoon olive oil over each tomato and return to the oven for 20 more minutes. Turn off the heat but leave the tomatoes in the oven until serving time.
Inspired by a recipe in Bernard Loubat and Jeannette Bertrandy's La bonne cuisine Provençale.
The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. Copyright © 2003 by Paula Wolfert. Photographs copyright © by Christopher Hirsheimer. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.