Culinary Explorer
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Pomodori Gratinati
Created by Chef Graziella
Ripe tomatoes crowned with crisp, herb-scented breadcrumbs and roasted until the juices concentrate. The kind of contorno that proves vegetables need no apology.
This is a dish of the Italian south, where summer tomatoes grow fat in volcanic soil and home cooks understand that a vegetable prepared simply is not the same as a vegetable prepared carelessly. Pomodori gratinati requires attention. The tomatoes must be ripe but firm. The breadcrumbs must be coarse and fresh, not the dust from a canister. The garlic must be minced so fine it nearly dissolves.
What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. Some recipes call for anchovies, capers, olives, cheese in excess. These additions have their place, but they mask rather than enhance. The tomato is the point. The breadcrumbs exist to provide texture and carry the herbs. The olive oil binds everything and encourages the crust to form.
Serve these beside grilled fish or roasted chicken. Serve them as part of an antipasto. Serve them alone with good bread to catch the juices. They are adaptable in the way of all honest Italian food, which is to say they fit where good ingredients are welcome.
Ingredients
ripe but firm tomatoes
Quantity
6 (about 2 pounds)
coarse fresh breadcrumbs
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
from day-old bread
flat-leaf Italian parsley
Quantity
3 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe but firm tomatoes | 6 (about 2 pounds) |
| coarse fresh breadcrumbsfrom day-old bread | 1 1/2 cups |
| flat-leaf Italian parsleychopped | 3 tablespoons |
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