Sausage and Herb Baked Tomatoes
Few things quite beat the taste of slow cooked Italian sausage and fresh tomato sauce…a deliciously comforting meal that could easily be dressed up with pasta, or kept fresh with a green salad!
Keep it saucy, baby! As you probably know by now, I’m not one to throw away perfectly good food, and in making stuffed…well, anything…often the middle gets tossed. You could easily create this recipe in a quick fashion by whipping out a can of tomato sauce, stirring a bit in, and using that as your base. But what’s the fun in that?! By using the inner parts of the tomato to slow cook a fresh sauce, you bring out the taste of the herbs you add, and highlight the essence of the tomato-a huge reason to be sure and pick a great quality tomato! With virtually all of my recipes, I consider garlic quantities to be a suggestion, and this is absolutely no exception! Go nuts and make this sauce a slow cooked, garlicy, spicy, and delicious base for your beautiful dish!
Sugar and Spice and everything…nice? When it comes to pasta sauce, I feel to each their own. You could read hundreds of recipes, and while they all have the same core ingredients, some will call for sugar, some red wine, some peppers and onions…I could go on and on. And depending on the dish I’m making, I change what I add. What I find is the constant throughout-the longer it cooks, the more the flavors blend together and the sauce reduces, making a richer and more flavorful sauce. Since this is a quick sauce, it doesn’t have as much time to meld together, which is why I kept the ingredients fairly simple. That being said, I would play your flavors off of the type of sausage you use to make a correct pairing decision. In this particular version, I used hot Italian sausage, so for my sauce, I added a bit more red pepper to play off of the spicy Italian meal. If you are using a sweet sausage, I may tone down the red pepper and even add a pinch of sugar. Playing neutral, many people will add a dash of red wine to give a more robust flavor. Use what you have on hand and play with those profiles, just be consistent so you don’t have two competing flavors. Have fun and be creative!
This recipe was created as part of the Tour of the Markets challenge, where I try to find new and creative ways to use seasonal produce. Follow along here!
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Sausage and Herb Baked Tomatoes
Equipment
- Skillet
- Kitchen knife
- Muffin Tin
Ingredients
- 4 medium Tomatos off the vine is a good choice
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 lb Italian Sausage
- 1/2 medium Onion
- 8-10 leaves Fresh Basil
- 2 tbsp Oregano
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Taking each tomato, carve out a circle at the top to remove the stem. Using a spoon, scoop out the inside of the tomato so there is only an outside layer about 1/8 inch thick. Save the inside!
- Place the tomatoes in the muffin tin and turn the oven on to 350.
- In skillet, heat olive oil and add chopped onion and 4 cloves of garlic. As they start to cook through, add your Italian sausage.
- Season with half of the oregano, half of the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and cook until sausage is done.
- Mix about half of the Mozzarella cheese and a few chopped basil leaves into the sausage mixture and spoon equally into the tomato cups.
- Cover with tin foil and place in the oven for about 20 minutes.
- Returning to the skillet, add more olive oil and a clove or two of garlic. Add the insides of the tomato along with the tomato paste, stirring well, and simmer on low.
- As the sauce starts to thicken, add the remaining oregano, Italian seasoning, red pepper, and a healthy amount of salt. Continue to let reduce, tasting along the way.
- Taking the tomatoes out of the oven, spoon about a tablespoon of sauce into each cup and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese, and about half of the parmesan. Return to the oven uncovered.
- When browned, plate with a little fresh parmesan, drizzle of the remaining sauce, and the rest of the chopped basil and enjoy!A variation: I used a muffin tin because of the size of the tomatoes I had, but I've also done this same technique in ramekins. You could use a sheet pan if you don't have either, it just helps to support so the tomato stays upright.
