Culinary Explorer
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Pomodori Ripieni al Forno
Created by Chef Graziella
Hollowed summer tomatoes filled with herbed breadcrumbs and baked until the tops turn golden and the flesh becomes sweet and yielding. Cucina povera at its most satisfying.
This is peasant cooking, which means it is honest cooking. Tuscan farm wives did not stuff tomatoes because they sought creativity. They stuffed them because tomatoes grew abundantly in the garden and stale bread sat on the counter, and waste was not permitted.
The filling is nothing more than bread, herbs, oil, and a whisper of garlic. Two cloves for six tomatoes, minced to a paste so it distributes evenly and mellows in the heat. Americans would add five cloves and call it Italian. They would be wrong.
What matters here is the tomato itself. It must be ripe enough to perfume your kitchen when you slice it, firm enough to stand upright through an hour of baking. Hothouse tomatoes grown for shipping will not do. Summer tomatoes, warm from the vine or at least from the farmers' market, are what this dish requires. If you cannot find them, wait until you can. Some dishes demand their season.
Ingredients
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
6 large (about 3 pounds)
ripe but firm
day-old country bread
Quantity
2 cups
crusts removed, torn into small pieces
flat-leaf Italian parsley
Quantity
1/4 cup leaves
chopped fine
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe tomatoesripe but firm | 6 large (about 3 pounds) |
| day-old country breadcrusts removed, torn into small pieces | 2 cups |
| flat-leaf Italian parsleychopped fine | 1/4 cup leaves |
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