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Stuffed Roma Tomatoes

This is a perfect side dish to accompany fish. It's light and very flavorful.

What you need

  1. Olive Oil
  2. 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled, leave whole
  3. 4 good sized roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, seeds discarded
  4. 1/2-3/4 cup pine nuts
  5. 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  6. 2-3 tbl grated romano cheese, plus additional to sprinkle over tops
  7. 2 tsp capers, minced
  8. Kosher salt & ground black pepper

How to make it

  1. Preheat oven to 400º
  2. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil with the garlic cloves in a saucepan over low heat
  3. When the garlic just begins to brown, turn off heat and allow to steep for 10 minutes
  4. Remove garlic cloves (these can be used in Caesar Salad*)
  5. Meanwhile sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes with salt and turn onto paper towels to drain some of their moisture
  6. While tomatoes are draining, toast whole pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, turning occasionally until lightly browned and aromatic
  7. Chop toasted pine nuts and combine with basil, romano cheese and capers
  8. Add ground black pepper to taste
  9. Brush a baking dish or oven safe skillet with some of the garlic oil
  10. Add tomatoes cut sides up and distribute pine nut filling evenly among them
  11. Sprinkle with a little additional grated romano chees and drizzle all with garlic oil
  12. Bake for 20-30 minutes until tender and lightly browned on top (cooking time will depend on size and freshness of the tomatoes)

*Caesar salad is also a great accompaniment to fish and when the garlic is braised in oil this way it becomes very mellow. You can use the garlic from this recipe in place of the minced garlic in our Classic Caesar Salad recipe - just mince them together with the anchovy fillet.

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