The Stuffed Tomato That Almost Wasn't

When you meet me, you will know 10 minutes into our conversation that I love food. Before the week is out I will have shared at least one of my favorite recipes with you. By the following month you will have tasted one of my creations and our friendship will be cemented like cookie batter that has been mixed WAY too much. And occasionally, you will share a recipe with me.

A mate at work came in raving about his family’s stuffed tomato/mushroom recipe. Before I could even say, “What’s in it?” he promised me a copy of the recipe. I was so excited to put this recipe to the test! The next day I sprinted from work to the store, grabbed all my ingredients, and went home to plan what I thought was going to be a rather delightful meal…it was not.

Somewhere along the way my taste buds did a 360. Everything tasted sweet to the point of making me nauseous. I thought it must have been the recipe, but my dining companion assured me everything tasted just fine. I ended up throwing everything into some Tupperware containers and making a bowl of pasta instead, declaring the recipe a failure.

The next day, being too tired to cook, I fumbled around the fridge looking for something to quench my hunger so I could get back to work. Upon seeing the stuffed tomato that had failed me yesterday I thought I’d give it another try…and it was so much better.

So I heartily recommend this recipe…with a few small additions. The recipe had said to cook the insides of the tomato with the meat and the rest of the filling. That is a big mistake! Throw it out, there’s absolutely no need for it. Also, who only uses 1 clove of garlic?!

Italian Stuffed Tomatoes (or Mushrooms)

4-6 large tomatoes or 1-2 pints baby bellas (or a combination of the two)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine + a little olive oil

½ lb. milk Italian sausage, removed from casing and crumbled

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped parsley

My recommendation is to do half of the stuffing recipe in tomatoes and half in mushrooms.

1.       Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.

2.       Core the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp, leaving ¼-inch shell. Turn the tomatoes over on a paper towel and let them drain. Brush off the mushrooms with a paper towel and core them. Small dice the stems and ¼th of the mushrooms (or more depending on your love of mushrooms); set aside.

3.       Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the onion and heat until the pieces are somewhat translucent. Add the diced mushrooms and sauté for another 5-7 minutes. Next add the sausage, salt & pepper; cook until the meat is browned.

4.       Take off the heat and stir in bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Spoon the mixture into the tomato shells and mushrooms. Bake in the oven, 20-25 minutes for the mushrooms and 30-35 minutes for the tomatoes, or until lightly browned.

5.       Sprinkle with additional cheese and chopped parsley, if desired.

Enjoy!

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