Herb Filled Tomatoes

Herbs are one of the easiest things to grow and they are all over farmers markets right now.  If you’re like me, you buy a big bunch of mint or basil or whatever because it looks so amazingly good and smells so incredible that you just can’t resist. Then you get it home and find out that you are only using a tablespoon of it here and maybe a quarter cup of it there, so you slowly watch it wilt and die.

Fear not, gentle reader (okay, I may have been watching too much Bridgerton); I’m here to help.

These herb stuffed tomatoes are ridiculously easy to make.  If you can hold a knife and set your oven temperature, you are all good to go here. This is side veggie 101. No special appliances, gadgets or gizmos.  Just you, a cutting board and a knife. No ninja skills required.

You can also customize them by adding a little bit of your favorite cheese such as goat, bleu, parmesan, or even bread crumbs, or you can keep them oil free by subbing out the oil for vegetable broth. If you don’t have all the herbs on hand that are listed, simply go with what you’ve got. Maybe add double the basil if you don’t have any mint.

I don’t recommend dried herbs for this since they are generally stronger than the fresh, so the rations would change.  The general rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon of dried herbs is equal to 1 Tablespoon of fresh.  If you were to use all dried herbs, I would recommend cutting the amount of liquids and perhaps even using smaller tomatoes.

Once you put them in the oven, just walk away and trust the process.  You won’t be sorry.

Ingredients:

• 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut in half horizontally
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh basil
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh oregano
• 1.5 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh mint
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (sub out vegetable broth for oil if desired)
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Remove seeds from tomatoes and reserve for another use (like in spaghetti sauce)  Place tomatoes upside down on towels to drain while you mice all the herbs.
3. Combine all the herbs with the shallots, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a small bowl.
4. Turn the tomatoes cut side up and divide the herb mixture evenly between the 8 halves, tucking it down into the tomatoes.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, till tomatoes are soft but not mushy.

Enjoy!