Sausage and Herb Baked Tomatoes
A comforting dish of your favorite Italian flavors that's easy to put together and oh so delicious!
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.