Sunday, October 10, 2010

Baked Tomatoes



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a side dish that I occasionally make when tomatoes are plentiful and inexpensive. Years ago, baked tomatoes were commonly served in the Southern United States and could be found in restaurants across the country where they were used as a garnish for steaks and chops. The dish is actually French in origin and anyone who has traveled through France in the late summer has probably been served Tomates a la Provencale - whether they wanted them or not. This is a very simple dish. It consists of tomatoes that are topped with seasoned bread crumbs and then baked until the crumbs are crisp and brown while the interior of the tomatoes remain soft and creamy. The dish is not to everyone's liking, but it is remarkably versatile and can be altered to please your family's taste. Here's the recipe I use.

Baked Tomatoes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

6 medium tomatoes, about 2 pounds
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round baking dish with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Set aside.
2) Cut top third from each tomato. Discard top. Gently squeeze each tomato to extract juice and seeds. Place tomatoes in prepared baking dish, cut side up.
3) Combine bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, salt, Parmesan cheese and parsley in a small bowl.
4) Top each tomato with two tablespoons of crumb mixture, gently packing them down with back of a spoon. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil evenly over tomatoes.
5) Bake, uncovered, until topping mixture is golden brown and the tomatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Pickled Green Tomatoes - Homesick Texan
Tomato Leek Soup - Living the Gourmet
Cherry Tomato Crisp - Let's Dish
Slow Roasted Tomatoes - Passionate About Baking
Stuffed Tomatoes with Bleu Cheese - Karen Cooks
Homemade Tomato Paste - My Man's Belly

40 comments :

Monet said...

I wish that these were still as popular...they look delicious. I have never tried baked tomatoes before, but I imagine I would like them quite a bit. Thanks for sharing, Mary. I can always count on your for inspiring and creative new recipes!

Angie's Recipes said...

Oh Mary, this looks simple, healthy yet so wonderfully delicious!

Angie

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Wow, Mary. You've outdone yourself this time - that photo is amazing! and I'm sure the tomatoes taste wonderful as well.

:)
ButterYum

Ginny Hartzler said...

I have never had any, and they look so juicy and good! This is your first recipe that I used your printing thing. It worked great even got the picture!

Alessandra said...

Great recipe Mary, we also make it in Italy :-)

Sushma Mallya said...

i never knew v could use tomatoes this way,its really so beautiful and nicely done..

Jeannie said...

Beautiful stuffed tomatoes, look healthy and yummy too! Would love to try one day since I have not tasted these before!

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Ciao Mary,
questa è una ricetta che mia madre ( era francese ) faceva molto spesso... ed erano squisiti !
Infatti era una perfetta cuoca !!!
In ogni caso anche in Italia vengono cucinati molto spesso.
Ciao e buona domenica :)
Myriam

Cherine said...

A great recipe! Those baked tomatoes must taste so good!

Jamie said...

Mary, you won't believe it but my French husband just asked to make Baked Stuffed Tomatoes! His - and the traditional French Tomates Farcies are made with a meat filling and I so like your filling better. Much lighter and more flavorful. Thanks for a great recipe and I'll make this for him.

penny aka jeroxie said...

I never tire of baked tomatoes. They are yum!

Ana Powell said...

I always fall in love with your dishes.
Great one too ♥

Diane said...

I love baked tomatoes and this recipe looks very yummy. Diane

Kim said...

Lots of flavors in these tomatos, they were probably perfect to accompany a piece of meat!

Tasha said...

Maybe not to everyone's liking, but I'm sure it would be to mine. The recipe sounds perfect in it's simplicity. Hope you are having a nice weekeend, Mary.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Mary,
We absolutely adore Tomatoes Provencale and my husband's family has been making this dish so far back that he can't remember when his mother didn't serve it.

I can not imagine anyone not loving Tomatoes Provencale. It's a perfect side dish with almost meat or fish dish.
Sam

Big Dude said...

Looks like a great way to get a serving of healthy cooked tomato.

Julie said...

Oh to find the perfect tomato to make some of these... Sounds perfectly wonderful to me :)

Priya Suresh said...

Wat an interesting baked tomatoes, wonderful!

The Words Crafter said...

Oh, YUM!!! I have everything except the tomatoes....which I can pick up this afternoon.

I love tomatoes so much that, as a teen (and now when I can find the homegrown ones) I would go out to the garden, pick one, wash it off, and eat it like an apple.

Thanks and hope your weekend has been a relaxing one!

From the Kitchen said...

Baked tomatoes were indeed a southern staple growing up; however, they were peeled, cut up and stirred in with big chunks of bread and a little sugar, salt and pepper. They were then dotted with butter and baked.
Although I detested it as a child, this dish appears on our table now.

Best,
Bonnie

Faith said...

Your baked tomatoes look wonderful, Mary! I love the filling you used, it sounds very hearty and flavorful!

Joanne said...

I love everything about tomatoes and these look especially delicious with that scrumptiously browned crumb topping!

Matilda said...

These tomatoes look yummy! Thanks for sharing.

Magdalena said...

I love tomatoes like that. Quite often we make tomates a la provencale, with chopped garlic, parsley and breadcrumbs. I am going to use your recipe one day. Kind regards...

Allie and Pattie said...

We enjoy small stuffed and roasted tomatoes with pasta- a wonderful way to use sweet, ripe tomatoes!
xoxo Pattie

Anonymous said...

Your dishes always look so refreshingly tasty, Mary. Great post x

Jennifer said...

What a great looking dish, I have so many tomatoes to use up!

M. said...

I love Tomato Provancale...and you're so right you can see them anymore, to bad...it's such a great side dish...especially with steaks.

Carol said...

I love baked tomatoes! Yours look fantastic!

pigpigscorner said...

Such a great idea for a side dish! yum!

Unknown said...

My grandma used to make stuffed baked tomatoes..this takes me back to such a great time in my childhood!! Thanks for sharing :)

Susy said...

We have lots of late blooming tomatoes from the bush right now - so I'm trying this out tonight!

I use a very similar topping (with capers added) for salmon.

Pushpa said...

Tempting and Delicious.

Pushpa @ simplehomefood.com

Claudia said...

I love this - very traditional in southern Italy also. Of course, I am prejudiced - because I make this!

theUngourmet said...

I love tomatoes this way. Unfortunately, no one else in my family does. I'll have to make them just for me sometime! :)Have a great week, Mary.

Bakericious said...

this is a great idea, my daughter going to love this side dish.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Gorgeous tomatoes--I love how the baking brings out the sweetness and flavors in the tomatoes. Yum! ;-)

Sheila Fretz said...

I love coming to your site! 1 because you make really yummy food and 2 you and I share some similar posts, I did a post in September very similar. Thanks for sharing your fabulous recipes

D said...

Mary, I love the baked tomatoes! and since we have not had them this year, this is a good reminder to make some for dinner this evening. Thank you.

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