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roasted stuffed tomatoes

Roasted Tomatoes with ‘Nduja, Mozzarella and Black Pepper

Late Summer Tomatoes make their own sauce for pasta as they roast in the oven. Will serve 4

Ingredients

Tomatoes:

  • 4-6 medium to large tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp olive oil , divided
  • 1 small yellow onion , minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped herbs (mixture of basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano etc)
  • 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella or fiore de latte , or bocconcini
  • 1/4 cup fresh ‘nduja , broken up into small pieces
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • pinch of salt.

Topping:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil , divided
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 6 tbsp panko
  • 6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped herbs (as above)

Pasta:

  • 1 lb uncooked pasta of choice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon , zested and juiced
  • 1 tsp cracked pepper

Instructions

Tomatoes:

  1. Hollow out each tomato, leaving the ‘wall’ intact

  2. Place all the pulp and seeds into a medium bowl.  If some of chunks are larger, just roughly chop or break apart with your fingers.

  3. In a medium sauté pan set over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and then the onion. Sauté till just softened. Remove to the tomato pulp in the bowl. Save the sauté pan for the topping.
  4. Add the fresh herbs and the remaining olive oil.

  5. Add the cheese, ‘nduja and black pepper and toss lightly.  Give a taste to see how much salt you want to add.

  6. Spoon equally among the hollowed out tomatoes.
  7. Place these into a well oil baking dish .

Topping.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. In the same sauté pan as above, over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the minced garlic till just softened. Remove from the heat. Add the remaining olive oil, the panko and the parmesan and stir to coat well, creating a mixture. Add the herbs mix in.
  3. Spoon the mixture evenly over all of the tomatoes.

  4. Place into the lower third of the oven and roast until the tomatoes are softened and wrinkled well, and the topping is browned and crispy. If the topping is browning before the tomatoes are completely cooked through, cover lightly with some tinfoil.  This should take between 18-20 minutes.  Check after 15 minutes though.

While the tomatoes are roasting, prepare your pasta.

  1. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook till ready to eat. The cooking time will depend on the pasta you choose to use.
  2. Once cooked through, drain and return to the pot. Add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice and the black pepper. Toss well.
  3. Place the pasta into individual serving plates (or onto a serving platter) and top with the tomatoes. Drizzle with a touch more olive oil, and a fresh smattering of parmesan. You can also garnish with fresh chopped herbs.
  4. As you break into the tomato, the insides will spill into the pasta, creating a lovely sauce. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

The size of tomatoes will  affect the amount you will prepare.  Four large tomatoes will be perfect for four people. But if the tomatoes are on the small side of medium, aim for two per person.

Vary up the pasta you choose- this works equally well over linguini as it does over farfalle!