These roasted stuffed heirloom tomatoes are filled with a goat cheese, creme fraiche, thyme mixture and topped with garlic butter breadcrumbs for a wonderful late summer side dish.
It’s the end of August and while I was *this close* to sharing an apple recipe for this month’s seasonal eating post, I forced myself to resist.
That’s not to say apples aren’t already in season here in New York, they definitely are but late summer should be all about the tomato.
My parents’ garden is overflowing with them (while they’re once again on vacation missing it all for the third year in a row) and local ones are everywhere not just at the farm stands/markets but even in the regular grocery stores.
I love it.
A few years ago when Brandy and I split a CSA share, there was a pickup week right about this time of year where the farm was so inundated with ripe tomatoes they let us pick as many as we could carry out.
Let me tell you, I’ve never been so excited to sweat my butt off in 90+ degree weather traipsing around with bags full of tomatoes that probably weighed close to 20 pounds a piece up and down rows of unruly plants on a farm.
I had them shoved in my shirt, my flip flop feet were caked in dirt and my hair was plastered to my face with sweat by the time I returned to the market store to check out.
I made things like this parmesan tomato gratin, this 20 minute tomato sauce, this roasted tomato pita bread and simple sautéed Swiss chard.
It was pure tomato gluttony and I loved every second of it.
I have to say though, finding locally grown heirloom beauties like these in the air conditioned grocery store this year might be a slightly more enjoyable experience.
While I could eat sliced fresh tomatoes drizzled with some olive oil, salt, pepper and a nice big ball of burrata for probably the rest of my life and never tire of it, I wanted to do something a bit more special with these to celebrate August and New York’s tomato bounty.
Roasted and filled with a goat cheese and creme fraiche mixture, these tomatoes are pretty much the absolute perfect end of summer side dish.
They’d be perfect with anything off the grill and I can promise one bite in and you won’t even be thinking about apples or pumpkin any time soon.
SERVE THESE STUFFED TOMATOES WITH ONE OF THESE DISHES:
Grilled Halloumi Lamb Burger
Blueberry BBQ Brie Burger
Blueberry Balsamic BBQ Turkey Legs
Grilled Skirt Steak
Pretzel Crusted Pork Chops
Tart Cherry Glazed Salmon
Roasted Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 9 medium sized heirloom tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/3 cup creme fraiche
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice a sliver off the bottom of the tomatoes so they stand upright. Carefully cut a circle down from the top with a sharp serrated knife. Use a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works well here) to gently hollow out the center of the tomato still leaving a bit of flesh around the sides.
- Place the tomatoes in a baking dish, drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes until just started to shrivel but still hold their shape.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Pour out any excess liquid that accumulated inside the tomato cavity while roasting.
- Combine the goat cheese, creme fraiche, thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whip with a handheld beater or vigorously with a whisk until fluffy. Set aside.
- Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium low heat. Once melted, add garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add the breadcrumbs, stir to combine in the butter/garlic mixture and remove from heat.
- Spoon the goat cheese filling into the tomatoes, top with the breadcrumbs and garnish with extra thyme before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
My kind of eating
I’m just finding your blog and I clearly see that ive been missing out! This recipe is looking like a perfect candidate for our anniversary dinner this weekend! I live in the Hudson Valley and, incidentally, which CSA were you a part of? I’ve been looking for one that I’ll love…thanks in advance!
Hey neighbor! ;) I did the csa at Fishkill Farms when this post was written. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. It felt light for stating it fed a family of 4 and to be honest, with half of it being a “pick your own” situation every week, I didn’t always have time for that. Their pickup windows were also really short from what I remember with only a 2 hour timeframe on Fridays and a short morning option on Saturdays. The food was always great though!
Those colours! That creamy goat cheese! These look positively heavenly!
I agree — late summer should be all about the tomato. These are so beautiful!
Ahhh..can we please hit the pause button on tomato season?!
These look incredible! Perfect use of the beautiful heirloom tomatoes. Love the creamy and cheesy filling!
I love tomatoes any time of the year, but the end of summer is just the perfect time to enjoy them! And you’ve got the best recipe right here. Simply gorgeous!
What a delicious way to cook up and use seasonal produce. I am so excited to be going into Summer here in Australia – so this recipe is ideal for me to make.