Stuffed Baked Balsamic Mozzarella Tomatoes

Submitted by SarasotaCook

"Easy, Quick and oh so good. These can be made on the grill or in the oven. Fresh ingredients make this a great summer side dish. Now to make this easy ... a good store bought vinaigrette will work fine although you can you use your favorite, I just think a balsamic works better than just an Italian vinaigrette, but you can use want you want. Otherwise a little balsamic, olive oil, garlic, s/p and dijon mustard and you have the dressing. But either way, use what works best for you. This is an amazing side dish with anything. Great summer flavors. I did want to mention after one review, the use of FRESH mozzarella is key for this dish and a good quality beefsteak or something similar. And sometimes I do use fresh basil chopped to this but not always, but if I have it on hand I will add it. So I just added it to the recipe but it isn't necessary. Just if wanted. Optional. But the cheese is a must."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 25mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 tomatoes, large ripe beefsteak
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese (1 fresh mozarella ball, about 12 slices)
• 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette (home made or store bought)
• 1⁄2 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped fine (optional)

directions

1. Marinade -- Slice the mozarella into 12 slices and place in almost all the vinaigrette, just save a little (1/4 cup) for a drizzle on top of the tomatoes. Turn them over and coat well, cover with plastic wrap and let marinade at room temp for 1 hour.
2. Tomatoes -- For the tomatoes, cut the stem area out and then make 3 cuts, top to bottom, but not all the way through just so you can stuff the cheese slices into the cuts of the tomato. Salt and pepper the tomato well including in the cut areas.
3. Topping -- Mix the bread crumbs and parmesan with a little of the balsamic vinaigrette (just a tablespoon) to make a nice crumb topping.
4. Putting the tomatoes together. Stuff the each of the tomato cuts with a slice of the mozarella 3 per tomato, then drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the tomato. Top with the bread crumb mixture and either grill for about 15 minutes or bake on a cookie sheet lined with foil for about 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread crumbs are golden brown.

Reviews

[Darkhunter]

Unfortunately, I could not get a fresh mozarella ball, so had to settle for slices. Marinating the mozarella, IMO, adds the crowning touch to this recipe. Easy and quick for a summer side. Thnx for posting your recipe, SarasotaCook. Wanted to adopt you for PAC Fall 2009, but somebody got to you first! But couldn't pass up this dish!