Author Pam - For the Love of Cooking / Original by Simply Recipes
Equipment
Cast Iron Skillet or a Small Baking Dish
Ingredients
6small tomatoes with firm, fleshy walls
1cupshredded mozzarella
⅓cupparmesan cheese, grated, divided
¼cupfresh basil leaves, chopped finely + extra for garnish
¼cupItalian seasoned panko crumbs
1tbspbutter, melted
1clove of garlic, minced
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a small cast iron skillet or a small baking dish with olive oil cooking spray.
Prepare the tomatoes by cutting off the 1/4 top portion of the tomato horizontally. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh being careful not to puncture the bottom of the tomatoes. Place the empty tomatoes in the prepared cast iron skillet.
Using your hands, separate the seeds from the scooped out tomato flesh and transfer the flesh to a cutting board and chop the flesh finely. Discard the seeds and tomato water.
Make the stuffing by combining the mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, basil, panko crumbs, chopped tomato flesh, butter, garlic, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste; mix until well combined.
Fill the tomatoes with the stuffing. Sprinkle the top of each tomato with the remaining parmesan cheese. Drizzle the top of each tomato with a little olive oil, to taste.
Bake for 15 minutes then broil for a minute until the filling begins to bubble and brown. Garnish with torn basil leaves and serve immediately. Enjoy.