Dinner Tonight: Herb Baked Tomatoes

The be-all-end-all tomato sandwich—you know, the white bread, slick of mayonnaise, fat slices of fruit—might be the O.G. every-meal of tomato season, but it will admittedly only get you so far. For the rest of the tomatoes (from your garden, or your neighbor's, or wherever), make Herb Baked Tomatoes: Slice off the tops, scoop out the guts, and stuff with an herby, mustardy breadcrumb mixture—doctored up with olives or bacon or crabmeat, if you like—before baking. Slide the baked tomatoes onto plates alongside a piece of something zapped on the grill while the tomatoes bake, or nestle it into a tuft of greens and make a grand salad out of it. It's no summer-singing tomato sandwich—it's a summer-singing something else. And that's a good thing.

Grocery List
Organized by area of the market

• 8 medium ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 1 cup breadcrumbs

We're assuming you already have salt, freshly ground black pepper, and 1/4 cup olive oil, but if not, add those to your list too!

The Game Plan

With 30 minutes to dinnertime, preheat the oven to 375° F. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place the tomatoes in a shallow baking pan. Stir together half of the olive oil with the mustard, and brush the mixture over the tomatoes.

In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, and black pepper to taste. Distribute the mixture evenly inside each tomato. (Depending on the size of your tomatoes, you may need a little more filling. Just eyeball the proportions to make more!) Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the tomatoes and bake for 20 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

See the full recipe here.