I apologize because I should have posted this recipe much sooner. Tomato season is rapidly coming to a close here in Wisconsin, but hopefully you can find a few to make this recipe.
I made these stuffed tomatoes several weeks ago while visiting family in the Twin Cities. Honestly, I went back and forth all weekend on making them or not, because I just wasn’t sure how they would turn out. I mean, stuffed tomatoes? Would that even be good? In the end we decided to go ahead and make it, with a few modifications, and wow was it good! It was so good that earlier this week I made a stuffed pepper recipe (recipe coming) and Zander got really excited about it. Until he actually had the stuffed pepper on his plate, and then he and Abigail both made sure I knew that these stuffed peppers were nothing like the stuffed tomatoes we’d had at their uncle’s house. So I guess it was a bigger hit than I thought!
The original recipe came to me in my inbox from Food Network. Here is the original recipe for Sausage-and-Basil Stuffed Tomatoes. My recipe below will reflect the changes we made to the recipe.
We started with a pile of freshly plucked from the garden heirloom tomatoes. You really do want the best tomatoes you can find here. Grocery store tomatoes aren’t going to cut it, however, I do think you could maybe pull it off if you can find Kumato tomatoes- Sam’s Club sells those in 12 packs.
Anyway. I started with tomatoes. I sliced off the tops and then took a spoon and scooped out the guts of each tomato. I discarded both the tops and the central core of the tomato. The original recipe called for pureeing these guts with cayenne and olive oil. I added a small drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and then just used a wooden spoon to mix it all together. A smooth puree was not necessary, and since we were feeding children, skipped the cayenne. This went into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Then the tomato shells were set in the pan on top of that.
The next focus was the filling. We had to modify a little here, as they were out of regular onions and celery. So instead we used scallions fresh from the garden, and I finely diced up a carrot in place of the celery. I also eliminated the herbs de provence. I do like that spice blend, but I wasn’t feeling it at all in this application with the sweet Italian sausage and Parmesan/tomato flavors we were going for. I cooked up my sausage and veggies together, and then looked at the recipe again- which called again for the food processor. We decided to make our filling chunky instead of smooth. So I took our cooked sausage and veggies and added them to the bread cubes and skipped the food processor. Next I added half the basil called for in the recipe and mixed it all up. This mixture was scooped into the tomato shells waiting in the pan. Here’s a picture of it so far:
Back to the recipe we found walnuts called for. We skipped that, and mixed together the remaining basil and Parmesan (Asiago, actually) and topped our tomatoes with that, and then decided to add a little Mozzarella for extra cheesy goodness. They sure smelled good so far!
Now ready to pop in the oven, while they baked up we made a simple tossed salad to go with. I still wasn’t sure the kids were going to like this one, but it did smell a lot like pizza as it baked up. It took about 30 minutes for it to look like it was cooked through and the cheese was all luscious.
Seriously. Make these. You won’t regret it. In fact, make two pans, because there were no leftovers from this meal.
Sausage and Basil Stuffed Tomatoes
8 to 10 Heirloom Tomatoes 1 tablespoon olive oil pinch of salt and pepper 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage 1/2 cup chopped scallion- both white and green parts 2 small carrots, peeled and finely diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning. 2 cups of fresh bread cubes 1 cup of fresh Basil 1/2 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella cheeseDirections:
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and discard the tops. Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Mash the tomatoes up with the back of a wooden spoon- add a drizzle of olive oil a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove any large chunks, and pour this rough sauce into a 9×13 baking dish. Save this mixing bowl for using again. Place your scooped tomato shells into the baking pan on top of the sauce.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the Italian sausage. Cook for about 2 minutes and then add the scallions, carrots and garlic. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Add the dried Italian seasoning and cook for another minute or so.
In the same mixing bowl you had the tomato sauce, add the bread cubes, and then pour the cooked sausage mixture over the top of the bread. Add 1/2 cup of the fresh basil, and mix it up with a spoon. Evenly distribute the stuffing mixture among the tomatoes. Press the stuffing in firmly if you have extra stuffing- it should all fit.
In a small bowl combine the rest of the fresh basil with the Asiago and the Mozzarella cheeses. Sprinkle this over the top of the stuffed tomatoes. Put the whole pan in the 400ºF oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes are nicely softened and the cheeses are lightly browned.
Serve immediately.