Tomatoes are plentiful in most gardens this time of year and if you are fortunate enough to have them; odds are, you are looking for ways to use them up. Try stuffing them with a mixture of flavorful herbs and breadcrumb mixed with crab meat. For a Greek twist, try them stuffed with orzo, feta and Kalamata olives. Whichever recipe you try, they are the perfect side dish or light summer meal.
Soon, summer will be a distant memory and ripe, luscious tomatoes will be a thing of the past. For most of the country, this is the time of the year when gardens are bursting with their bounty of vegetables and herbs. While I love a sliced tomato sprinkled with fat flakes of sea salt as much as the next girl, sometimes a girl needs to change it up. Enter: Stuffed Tomatoes.
Recently, I asked my peeps in our Fabulous Foodie Friends group over on Facebook to weigh in on what THEY would like to see with tomatoes. I have to tell you, I was shocked to see stuffed tomatoes win the top spot. Next, I asked for a vote on fillings. There was a tie between crab and orzo/feta/kalamata, so I decided to make them both! It wasn’t really a hardship, I’m not even going to pretend that I had a hard time chowing down on both of these. Now, let’s get to stuffing some tomatoes…
- 8 ripe beefsteak - type tomatoes
- + choose filling below
- 1 cup cooked orzo pasta
- 1/4 cup diced tomato (from scooped out tomatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ounce feta, crumbled
- 1 ounce kalamata olives, sliced
- 1/4 cup rough breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup crab meat, picked over for shells
- 1/2 cup rough breadcrumbs
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- additional olive oil for drizzling, optional
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- With a serrated knife, slice the top of the tomato off and discard. Do not cut too much off, just the very top! Using a spoon, scoop out the tomato and reserve pulp if using. Season the inside of tomatoes with salt and pepper
- Combine all ingredients for filling. Whether you choose the crab filling, or the orzo filling, the process is the same. Stuff all 8 tomatoes, drizzle tops with olive oil if desired and bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
- - You can use store bought breadcrumbs, but it won't be exactly the same. For this, I like to make my own so it has more texture. I stash leftover rolls or bread in the freezer for this purpose. Cut or tear dried bread into small pieces and pulse in food processor to break it up into rough pieces about the size of peas or a bit smaller.
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