Baked Herby Tomatoes Recipes

HERBY STUFFED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Arrange the tomatoes cut-side up with space between each on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the honey and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt. Bake until slightly tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside.
• In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the ginger, vinegar, cumin, scallions and reserved insides of the tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the chickpeas, spinach and arugula and cook until the greens are wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Tear 2 leaves of basil and stir into the filling. Season with salt and pepper.
• Put 1 basil leaf into each tomato base and gently spoon in a liberal amount of filling. Bake until piping hot, 12 to 15 minutes. Top each stuffed tomato with grated Parmesan and a tomato "hat."

BAKED HERBY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Wash tomatoes, dry, then cut in half horizontally.
• Remove the seeds.
• Sprinkle the cut sides with salt and place cut side down on paper toweling to remove some liquid.
• Leave to stand for 20 minutes.
• This will help to prevent tomatoes from getting mushy, and concentrate tomato flavor.
• Rinse and pat dry with paper toweling.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F Place the shallot in a mini food processor along with the garlic, thyme, oil, and anchovies.
• Process to a smooth paste.
• Transfer paste to a bowl and fold in the parsley, chili flakes and breadcrumbs until well combined.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste, remembering that the anchovies are salty in themselves.
• Spoon the mixture into the tomato cavities.
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden.
• Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot or at room temperature, drizzled with olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar, if desired.

HERBY BAKED LAMB IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Put the lamb into a large ovenproof dish. Pour the oil into a small food processor with the oregano and rosemary leaves and the garlic, then whizz to a rough paste. Season the paste well, rub all over the lamb, then roast for 20 mins. Cover, lower the oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2, then roast for a further 3 hrs.
• Remove the lamb from the oven and carefully pour off all the fat, leaving any meat juices in the dish if you can. Pour over the wine and tomatoes, poke in the remaining herb sprigs, then return, uncovered, to the oven for a further 40 mins. The lamb should now be tender enough to cut with a fork or spoon.
• Carefully pour or spoon the wine and tomato sauce into another pan, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface, then re-cover the lamb. Let it rest for up to 30 mins while you roast the potatoes and finish the sauce. Heat the tomato mixture until bubbling, then simmer for 10-15 mins until thickened and saucy. Season with the sugar, and some salt and pepper if it needs it, then pour back around the lamb to serve.

BAKED CHERRY TOMATOES WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut a slit in one side of the cherry tomatoes, and insert a sliver of garlic into each. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Bake tomatoes about 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly shriveled. Serve warm.

HERBY BAKED FETA DIP WITH TOMATOES, PEPPERS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the tomatoes, roasted red peppers, olives and garlic in a 7-by-11-inch baking dish. Drizzle with the oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir to coat. Nestle the block of feta in the center of the vegetables. Bake until the feta is soft, and the tomatoes burst and release their juices, about 25 minutes.
• Use a fork to slightly break up the feta, then stir in the basil, chives and parsley. Serve with sliced sourdough bread or crackers.

HERBED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Cut the tomatoes across their horizontal equators, and over the sink, scoop out some of their seeds and juice without completely disemboweling them.
• Heat a cast-iron pan or grill pan or grill big enough to fit all the tomatoes in one or two rounds. Lightly brush or drizzle your pan with olive oil. Cook the tomatoes in a single layer, cut sides down, for 3 to 4 minutes, until they just start to collapse or buckle when they are plucked at with tongs and their cut sides are browned or even a touch blackened.
• Turn off the heat, and turn the tomatoes over, leaving them for 3 minutes on the second side and then removing them, cut sides up, to a plate. Lightly salt the cut sides.
• In a mortar and pestle or on a cutting board, pound the garlic to a paste with a large pinch of salt - about 1/2 teaspoon. When you have a fairly smooth paste, mix in the chopped herbs and olive oil. Taste. Adjust salt until the paste is very well seasoned.
• Divide the herb paste among the cut sides of the tomatoes, using it all. There should be a thick, herby blanket on each. Eat warm or at room temperature or cool.

HERBY CHEESE ROAST CHICKEN & BAKED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Carefully loosen the skin of the chicken as above, then push the cheese under the skin and massage it down so it completely covers the breasts and is pushed down to the legs.
• Sit the chicken in a roasting tin, drizzle with the olive oil, then roast, undisturbed, for 1 hr 20 mins. When the chicken is done, remove from the tin and leave to rest for 20 mins. While the chicken is resting, toss the tomatoes in the roasting tin with the chicken juices, then cook until the chicken is ready to serve. Serve the chicken in pieces with a few baked tomatoes, some of the pan juices, and a green salad.