THURSDAY
Kale & Pine Nut Stuffed Tomatoes with Bacon Breadcrumbs
When this recipe popped up on my Tumblr dashboard last week it caught my eye. I know that we are well beyond the tomato season but who could resist a little salad tucked into a pretty red package? Or, maybe, it was the utter simplicity of the the dish that prompted me to place it on this week’s menu. Whatever the reason, I am happy that this light, easy entrée landed on our dinner plates this evening. It has all of the flavors of a classic BLT and then some…sautéed kale, fresh thyme, pine nuts, bacon & balsamic vinegar and the whole dinner came together in less than 30 minutes!
My BLT~loving family readily approved of these tomatoes paired with some fresh pasta tossed with butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. An added bonus: the recipe made more filling than what we needed for our 5 tomatoes and the leftovers made a FABULOUS accompaniment to our breakfast eggs this morning.
Vine-ripened tomatoes served as the cups for the salad and were made by simply slicing off the top portion of the tomatoes and removing the contents {I used a serrated grapefruit spoon but a melon baller or a regular spoon could also work well}…
Once the tomato cups were prepared I seasoned them generously with salt and freshly ground pepper…
The original recipe called for stale bread processed into breadcrumbs in a food processor. I did not have any stale bread on hand so I diced three slices of fresh, crusty bread and toasted the pieces in the oven for a few minutes until they were golden brown and crunchy…
I cooked bacon for Wednesday evening’s Chicken Pot Pie and had a few slices leftover which simply needed to be chopped…
As always, I reserved the bacon drippings in a jar, stored in the refrigerator, and I was able to use these drippings to sauté the remaining ingredients…
The finished stuffing for the tomatoes…
Once the stuffing is prepared, simply spoon into the reserved tomato cups and serve with your favorite pasta dressed with butter and Parmesan…
- 5 slices thick~cut bacon
- 2-3 slices of bread, diced and toasted until golden brown
- 6 medium ripe tomatoes
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, + more for drizzling
- 3 cups Lacinato kale, chopped
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, + more for drizzling
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until the bacon is crisp~tender and it renders its fat, about 6 minutes. Remove bacon from skillet {reserving the fat drippings}. Set skillet aside.
- Slice the stem end off of each tomato and remove the contents {leaving the outer flesh in tact to form a cup}. Season inside of tomatoes with salt and pepper and then set aside.
- Return skillet to medium heat and add thyme leaves to drippings in pan. Add breadcrumbs and pine nuts to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown {about 5 minutes}. Transfer breadcrumb mixture to a large bowl and set aside. Wipe out skillet.
- Return skillet to high heat and add olive oil. Add kale to skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, tender, and liquid has evaporated {2-3 minutes}. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and season to taste with salt & pepper.
- Combine cooked kale and breadcrumb mixture. Spoon the filling into prepared tomatoes and sprinkle with bacon pieces.
- Place tomatoes on individual plates and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately with buttered pasta.
