Good & Tasty Tuesday / Ricotta Basil Stuffed Tomatoes

Have you eaten something that is both delicious and nutritious? It’s Good & Tasty Tuesday! Hosted by the Stay At Home Babe. Wanna take part? Hit the button at the bottom of the post for the rules and the link up!

As most of you know, I have been “off the dairy” since TinyOne was born.

And of course I craved extra cheese pizzas the entire time.

Well, her reflux is starting to abate, which means that the dairy doesn’t exacerbate her tummy as much, so I have been slowly adding it back in. So what’s a girl to do but make Ricotta Basil Stuffed Tomatoes! The recipe is taken from the Vegetarian Times July/August 2010 issue.

This is a fantastic recipe for using fresh summer produce –

• Large Beefsteak Tomatoes. I used four, but I had leftover filling, which I address at the end
• 1 ear of fresh corn, cut off the cob.
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1/4 small red onion, diced super fine
• handful of fresh basil
• garlic
• 1 cup ricotta
• Few tablespoons of fresh grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs. Big ones.

Notice there is no garlic pictured. I had run out, so I just omitted it. Which is too bad, because the dish really could have used some garlic!

Start by scooping out the insides of the tomatoes: slice off the tops and scoop out with a spoon. Then keep half of the innards to use in the filling. Try to minimize seeds. Side note: tomato meat feels just like watermelon when your bare hands are gooping through it – Fun!

Mix the eggs and ricotta. And the garlic, zucchini, corn, oh heck. Mix it all in there. No real order, but it does help to whisk together your cheese and eggs first to get a smooth consistency.

Fill each tomato with the mixture, and shave a bit more Parmesan on top of each for good measure. I also had some leftover Zucchini slices, so I threw those on top too. Put the “tomato lid” back on each tomato and bake for about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let sit for a bit before you start eating…contents are HOT. To say the least.

Ready to go in the oven.

I had a bunch of leftover filling, so I divided it up and put it into baking dishes for heat-and-serve meals at a later time. I ended up layering with Tilapia filets, so it resulted in a lovely fish pie.

Leftover filling looks almost like the main meal, no? It eventually was, as a yummy fish pie!

Another cool note: you can freeze these bad boys for later…just cool the tomatoes completely. Then wrap the lovelies in foil and plastic wrap and pop in the freezer!  To reheat them, bake in a 350 oven for about 20-30 minutes or until hot.

Ready to Eat. Light and Delicious.

So the final verdict? DELICIOUS! The flavor was really fresh and delicate (which was perfect for the summer produce. (And dare I say the summer heat too. Except the baking in the oven part. NO ONE wants to do that when it is crazy hot.) The flavors worked together, and they didn’t upstage each other. (But yeah. Coulda done with a bit of garlic, for sure.) The added benefit of providing us with two fantastic meals was just the cherry on top.

Or should I say the “lid on the stuffed tomato?”  Hardy har har. No, you’re right. I shouldn’t say that. 🙂