Somehow calling a dish "Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Herbs, and Garlic" just doesn't sound anywhere near as tasty as calling it "Tomates a la Provencale" does it? I think "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is as much about what to call things to make the sound fancy as it is about the actual preparation of food. We try to do the same sort of thing in English when we change the name of organ meat to "Sweetbreads." The French have elevated the name even further -- "Ris de Veau et Cervelles" (Sweetbreads and Brains). How about some "Cervelles au Beurre Noir?" Doesn't that sound absolutely delectable? Certainly better than "Calf's Brains in Brown Butter Sauce." I suppose I got off on a bit of a tangent there but that's probably the only time I'll be writing about sweetbreads here because I can pretty much guarantee I won't be cooking any of them.
Now, about these tomatoes. I'd definitely stick with the French name for these because these were wonderful! Fun and easy to make and the taste was so much better than expected. They were prepared as a second side dish that was served with my "Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons" and, considering we had none left over, I think it is safe to say that we really enjoyed these.
I was reminded in the process to never doubt Julia. The recipe started off telling me that I was to cut the tomatoes in half "crosswise" and then squeeze out the juice and seeds. My brain reflected on this for awhile and tried to figure out how this was going to work. My thinking was that the tomatoes would have a lot more room to stuff in the seasoned bread crumbs if it was cut lengthwise. I pondered this for awhile and finally decided to cut the first tomato lengthwise. Ummmm, Julia was right. The juice and seeds barely come out this way and it doesn't provide any openings for stuffing the tomatoes. My apologies Julia, I shall never doubt you again (unless you're trying to convince me to cook and eat sweetbreads...).
Once I recognized the error of my ways and decided to trust Julia, I cut a tomato in half crosswise (as I should have done the first time) and gave it a gentle squeeze over the sink. Magic! The drippy juice came running out along with most of the seeds. When I stopped squeezing the tomato opened back up with lovely openings all the way around where I'd be able to put in the stuffing. I do suggest you use a little finese and don't go crazy with the squeezing. I'm pretty sure you could mash the tomato into nothingness if you're trying to impress family and friends with your strength so remember that the goal is to only squeeze out the seeds and most of the juice and leave a recognizable tomato.
After squeezing all of the tomatoes, they were arranged in a 9x13 pan (Pyrex in my case) to wait to be stuffed. The bread crumb mixture was simple, but tasty. A couple cloves of fresh garlic were mashed with the side of my chef's knife and then minced. A shallot (second
time using one!) was also peeled and minced. To these were added 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, 1/8 teaspoon of thyme, 4 tablespoons of minced parsley, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, a large pinch of pepper, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Be careful -- a good chef tastes what they're making and when you taste this filling mixture you're going to find out that it is realllllllllly good. Save some for the tomatoes!
Each of the tomato halves were then filled with a couple of spoonfuls of the mixture. It was pretty easy to gently press in the crumb mixture and fill all of the empty space. Once all of the tomatoes have been filled (now you can eat any leftover filling mixture) they can be set aside until about 15 minutes before you're ready to serve them. 15 minutes before serving they went into a 400 degree oven and were checked after about 10 minutes. They are done when the tomatoes are tender but still hold shape and the crumb filling has browned slightly.
Because the juice was squeezed out before filling the tomatoes, when served and eaten you won't find a puddle of tomato juice running around your plate. These were a delightful side dish that added some nice color and flavor to the rest of our meal. Another one that'll definitely be made again!
Bon Appetit!
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