IN PRAISE OF FUNNY-SHAPED TOMATOES

Posted by Sarah Kiino at 9/24/2006 2:23 PM
Categories: uncategorized

 



 


Is there such a thing as food that's too beautiful to eat? No, I don’t believe that. No matter how pretty, how delicate, how painstakingly composed on a plate, food is, well, food after all, and (as long as it tastes good) should end up, if not down my hatch, then at least down someone's hatch. But plenty of attractive edibles deserve a few moments of ogling—and perhaps a hearty round of admiring “ooohs”—before that final, inevitable, journey.


Case in point: this curiously ribbed tomato, which caught my eye even among the riot of red, pink, yellow, purple, heart-, oval-, and pear-shaped specimens at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan. I had told myself I would refrain from doing any more tomato posts, but this beautiful red fruit seemed worthy of a special exemption.  In a rare act of foresight, I even scribbled the variety name on a scrap of paper—which, more characteristically, I promptly threw in the trash when I got back to my office. But a few minutes on Google proved fruitful (pun absolutely intended): Costoluto Genovese is the name.


So ogle away:


 


The view gets even more interesting when you cut the thing open:






The tomato is mostly hollow, with just a lump of pulp in the middle. Perfect for stuffing. So, last Friday evening, that’s exactly what Brian and I did. Maybe it’s not the most exciting activity for a jumpin’ weekend night, but, as we well know, an open bottle of wine can make any situation reasonably fun. Between sips, we put together a robustly flavored, vaguely Mediterranean filling of bread crumbs, tomato innards, shallot, basil, gruyere, nicoise olives, pepper and salt. We arranged the empty tomato shells in an oiled baking dish, loaded them with stuffing, and drizzled olive oil over the tops.

 





The tomatoes retreated into the oven; Brian and I retreated to the couch to watch some Tiki Bar TV. Within a few minutes, a wonderful smell wafted our way: savory, cheesy, a bit fruity from the roasting tomato flesh. Happily for us, the tomatoes were ready in just twenty minutes. (Just watch that first bite—these get positively scorching inside!)






STUFFED TOMATOES

4 flavorful, good-sized tomatoes
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup torn or chopped basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2/3 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1 small shallot, chopped
1/2 cup pitted nicoise olives, coarsely chopped
Pepper and salt to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tops off tomatoes and scoop out insides, being careful to keep shell intact. Chop innards and combine in a bowl with bread crumbs, herbs, cheese, shallot, olives, and pepper.  Taste and add salt if needed (the olives and cheese contribute quite a bit of saltiness). Arrange tomato shells in an oiled baking dish and season with pepper. Divide filling among shells and drizzle filled tomatoes with olive oil. Bake for about twenty minutes, or until tomatoes are soft but not collapsing.

 

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