These have been one of the most successful hors d'oeuvres I've made in my relatively brief history of cooking. There are really only two reasons I don't make them more: the short season for tomatoes and the tediousness of coring out tomatoes. I don't have a spoon that is quite small enough, and it's a bit of a chore. They're worth the effort though. I've been contemplating trying out our yellow stuffer tomatoes with the filling as a first course. I think it could be delicious with a little lettuce chopped up along with the basil. This recipe is adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook.
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Bacon and Basil Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes
Makes 14 Hors D'Oeuvres
14 (1-inch-diameter) cherry tomatoes
3/8 tsp salt
1/4 pound bacon
2 Tbsp finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp sour cream
Freshly Ground Pepper
Cut 1/8-inch-thick slice from the bottom and top of each tomato with a serrated knife. The bottom slice helps the tomato stand upright. Scoop out pulp and seeds with a small spoon or melon ball cutter. Sprinkle tomato shells with salt and invert on paper towels to drain for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and cool, then finely crumble.
Stir together bacon, shallots, basil, mayonnaise, sour cream, and pepper in a small bowl until well combined. Divide mixture evenly among tomato shells and arrange in a serving dish.
I think that Con and I would be willing to find you a spoon if it meant more of these next summer..... I'm on the hunt!
ReplyDeleteI have a possible tool that I stole from my mom. It's a 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon and fits well into the tomatoes. I also need to take some time and look through seed catalogs with my mom to see if I can find some larger cherry tomatoes. That would simplify things immensely.
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