An easy summertime tomato dish bringing together the flavors of Provençe.
Crunchy, buttery pine nuts are an essential ingredient in this recipe. Pine nuts, pignon in French, come from a variety of pine trees grown across North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. The nuts are actually kernels found inside female pine cones. Extracting the nuts from the cones is a very labor-intensive process and is what makes these nuts so expensive. The most common are the European and Asian varieties. European pine nuts have a long and slender torpedo shape. Asian pine nuts, mostly grown in China, are short and tear dropped. European pine nuts have a lighter, more delicate flavor than those from China, but the Asian pine nuts are generally less expensive. Whatever the variety, pine nuts are high in fat and will go rancid very quickly; to keep them fresh, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three months, frozen for up to 9 months.
I count two tomatoes per person if they are being served as a starter, one if they are accompanying a main course.
Baked tomatoes filled with goats cheese and herbs
Ingredients
- Serves 4
- 8 medium size, ripe, but firm tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 1 cup (150 g) white onion, finely chopped
- 1 ounce (28 g) herbs (parsley, chervil, basil, chives), finely chopped
- 8 ounces (226) soft goat cheese (or Ricotta)
- ¼ cup (35 g) pine nuts
- ¼ cup (30 g) grated Parmesan
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt and pepper
- Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 °f (180 °c)
- Wash the tomatoes and if necessary, lightly trim the bottom so that they will sit flat without rolling over once filled. Slice of the top and reserve. Scoop out the flesh and seeds, being careful not to break through the skin. Turn tomatoes over and place cut side down on a tray lined with paper towel to drain for 30 minutes.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-size skillet; add onions and a pinch of salt. Gently cook until onions loose their opacity and become translucent. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Without wiping out the pan, add the pine nuts and cook over medium-low heat, until golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Let cool and then roughly chop.
- Put the cheese, cooled onions, Parmesan, herbs and pine nuts in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine, taste, then add salt and pepper as needed. Stir in egg yolks.
- Fill the tomatoes up to the top of the opening and place in a baking dished lightly rubbed with olive oil. Place the tops back on top of the filled tomatoes and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned, serve immediately garnished with parsley.
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