Provencal Tomatoes

Not sure what to do with extra tomatoes? Try stuffing and baking them with fresh herbs and a little cheese. What’s not to love?! This recipe is super easy and quick to make. Fresh ingredients, quality tomatoes, and breadcrumbs are key to the success of this dish. I bet this recipe would be great with breadcrumbs made from sourdough. For my breadcrumbs, I lightly toasted some whole wheat bread in the oven and then placed it in the food processor with a little garlic, thyme, and olive oil to make fresh breadcrumbs.

Ingredients

6 ripe tomatoes

1.5 cups of fresh breadcrumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

¼ cup chopped green onions (white and green parts – about 2 green onions)

¼ cup fresh basil leaves – chopped

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley – chopped

2 teaspoon minced garlic  (about 2 cloves)

½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

½ cup grated gruyere cheese

Good olive oil

Creating the Magic!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the cores from the tomatoes, removing as little as possible. Cut them in half crosswise and, with your fingers, remove the seeds and juice. Place the tomato halves in a baking dish.

In a food processor, combine the bread crumbs, scallions, basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle the tomato halves generously with salt and pepper. With your hands, fill the cavities and cover the tops of the tomatoes with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake the tomatoes for 15 minutes, or until they're tender. Sprinkle with the cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 30 seconds more. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Enjoy!