Or in Italian, “Pomodori Croccanti al Forno”. Serve warm or at room temperature as a delicious side dish.

Inspired by Lidia’s Italy

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 plum tomatoes
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 1 c panko bread crumbs
  • ½ c grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ c finely chopped scallions
  • 2 T fresh Italian parsley, chopped
  • ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°. Halve the tomatoes crosswise and cut out the cores. Squeeze out the seeds. In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the salt.
  2. In a medium bowl, toss together the bread crumbs, grated cheese, scallions, parsley, red pepper flakes (if using) and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Press the stuffing into the tomatoes, opening the tomatoes up with your fingers as you go to get some stuffing into the smaller cavities.
  3. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, on a parchment-lined rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle the tops with olive oil. Bake on the top rack of the oven until the tomatoes are tender but still hold their shape and the stuffing is browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  4. Move the tomatoes to the bottom rack and bake to dry them out a bit, an additional 10 to 15 minutes.