Serves 4 for a lunch or 8 as a side dish. According to Food52, this French tomato dish was made by Daniel Boulud's mother while he was growing up and we've modified it to include Margot's Morsels. If you love tomatoes, this is a great recipe now while tomatoes are imported and not at their peak flavor but even better when you're pulling them off your own vines in the summer.
- 8 medium tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
- 1/4 cup cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Margot's Morsels Killer Garlic or Rockin' Rosemary, crumbled
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
- 1/2 tablespoon basil, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 sprig rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon thyme, picked, and finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 egg
- 1 dash salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
Ingredients for roasting
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 sprigs sage
- 1/2 head garlic, split in half
- 1/3 cup water
Place your oven rack in the middle and preheat to 275° F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set them aside.
Cut the top of each tomato to create a 2-inch cap. With a small spoon, carefully scoop out and discard the seeds and pulp, leaving the shell intact. Place the tomato shells upside down on the prepared baking sheet with their caps on the side and refrigerate.
Heat up one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the mushrooms, onions, and shallots then cook until they tender. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and let them cool to room temperature.
Combine the morsel crumbs and cream together. Mix together the ground pork, soaked crumbs, sautéed mushroom mixture, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Season the inside of each tomato with salt and pepper, then stuff each tomato with enough pork filling to makes a slight mount above the rim of the tomato shell. Wrap each tomato with a piece of aluminum foil folded into the same height as the tomatoes. This helps the tomato to maintain their shape in the oven.
Scatter the roasting herbs, garlic, and water over the bottom of a baking pan. Place the tomato farcie on top of the herbs and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. After 25 minutes rotate the pan and if the pan is too dry a small amount of additional water to the bottom of the pan. When finished, remove the pan from the oven and transfer the tomatoes to a warm serving platter. Top the tomatoes with their caps, strain the pan juices through a fine