Italian Stuffed
tomatoes
liguria Style
This recipe uses the standard format for Italian stuffed whatever. It’s a breadcrumb stuffing, made moist with olive oil and made flavorful with aromatics, herbs, and some of whatever it is that’s being stuffed. Usually a fair amount of grated hard cheese, such as Locatelli, Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, or something similar is added. Whether or not you use the cheese depends upon whether you’re aiming for a dish that’s vegetarian or one that’s vegan. (You can substitute vegan cheese or a bit of nutritional yeast if you like. You do you.)
Often, the stuffing is made by soaking day-old Italian bread in milk and then crumbling it. You can do that if you’d like to, but I use seasoned dry breadcrumbs that are moistened with olive oil.
Tossing pignolis (pine nuts) into the mix adds flavor, texture, and protein. For a heartier dish, you can add some crumbled vegan Italian sausage to the stuffing as well.
The most important thing is to use flavorful, best quality tomatoes that are ripe but firm.
These stuffed tomatoes can be served as a side or as an entrée.
Ingredients:
8 medium/large, best quality you can find, firm, ripe tomatoes
¼ cup (or more) best quality Italian extra virgin olive oil
I large white onion, minced
1 or 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped from their stems
3 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
1 or 2 Italian sausages (I use Impossible vegan sausage), mild or hot, finely chopped (optional)
1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
⅓ cup pignoli nuts, whole or coarsely chopped.
¼ cup grated hard Italian cheese—see notes. You can swap it for vegan cheese, or use a bit of nutritional yeast instead if you like.
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
kosher salt as needed
a few twists of the pepper mill, to taste
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Wash and dry your tomatoes. Slice the tops off the tomatoes—nicely, as you’re going to use them later. Use a melon baller or a small spoon to scoop out the flesh and seeds of the tomatoes. Reserve the pulp and the liquid, discarding as many of the seeds as is reasonable. Finely chop the pulp and set it aside.
Sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes lightly with kosher salt and let them rest, upside down, while you prepare the stuffing. This will drain them of any excess liquid.
Pour half the olive oil into a skillet and turn on the heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onions to the pan and turn the heat down to medium/low. Sauté the onions slowly. They’ll become soft and translucent. Add the thyme leaves and keep sautéing the onions until they’re a lovely toasty light brown color.
If you’re using sausage, add it now and continue to sauté until the sausage is browned.
Add the garlic, the pignolis, and the tomato pulp and sauté for another minute or two. Then stir in any juice from the tomatoes.
Pour the remainder of the olive oil into the skillet and add the breadcrumbs. Cook, stirring, to toast the breadcrumbs a bit. Then remove the skillet from the heat.
Stir in the pignolis and the cheese, or cheese substitute, if using. Add the parsley and the basil and combine the mixture well.
Use your fingers to feel the stuffing. You should be able to squish some together and have it hold its shape. If it’s too dry and crumbly for that, add more olive oil.
Taste for salt (and adjust if needed). The amount you’ll need depends upon the saltiness of the breadcrumbs and the cheese that you’re using.) Add a few twists of the pepper mill and mix again so that everything is equally distributed.
Line a baking pan with parchment and have it ready.
Rub the outsides of the tomatoes generously with olive oil and set them down, hollow side up. Fill the tomatoes with the stuffing, packing it lightly but not squishing it too much, and set the stuffed tomatoes on the baking pan.
Rub the reserved tomato tops with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle the inside part with a bit of salt. Lay the tops down on the pan, fitting them between the tomatoes.
Roast the tomatoes for one hour. The tops should be browned and crispy and the tomatoes should be tender and wrinkly, but still maintain their shape.
To serve, top each tomato with its top (or its neighbor’s top . . . )
Did you make it? Was it fabulous?