Grilled Tomatoes 3 Ways – quick, easy, delicious
Grilling tomatoes is a great way to make a side dish or a quick sauce. Roasting brings out the sweetness in the tomatoes and softens the flesh. The smoke from the grill adds a wonderful depth to their flavor. You can fill them with herbs, breadcrumbs, cheese or grill them whole. It is really a wonderful and easy side dish. Three recipes below for your enjoyment.
Recipe: Ricotta Salata stuffed Tomatoes
Summary: This is a quick side dish that is easy to scale up for 10 to 12 people. Tomatoes are cored, a little basil oil is drizzled inside then they are topped with crumbled ricotta salata and grilled.
Ingredients
- 6 medium Tomatoes
- 12 Basil Leaves
- 1/2 C good Olive Oil
- 3 oz Ricotta Salata
- Fresh Black Pepper
Instructions
- About 30 minutes prior to assembling make the basil oil by smashing the basil in a mortar and pestle or using a muddler. Add the olive oil and let stand in a clean jar at room temperature.
- Cut the cores out of the tomatoes – like you are cutting the top off of a pumpkin for halloween. Point your knife down and in at a 45 degree angle and cut the top off the tomato. Leave about 1/4 inch of the top still in place to hold the tomato together as it cooks.
- Use your knife or fingers to get the seeds out of the tomato.
- Drizzle about 1 tsp of basil oil inside each tomato. Add a good grinding of black pepper. Top with crumble ricotta. Work the ricotta down into the pockets a little bit. Don’t fill but use them to help hold the ricotta in place.
- You can hold the tomatoes at this stage at room temperature for an hour or two. Lightly cover with plastic wrap to keep the cheese from drying out.
- Prepare a banked fire in your grill (that is, all the coals on one side). Or heat your gas grill to medium high. Or heat an oven to 425F.
- Grill over the coals for 2 to 3 minutes then move to the other side of the grill. Cook over indirect heat on the grill for about 10 minutes more or until they soften and skins start to split. Remove carefully.
- If you are cooking in an oven, put in upper third of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until soft and the cheese starts to brown.
- Serve warm.
Recipe: Herb and Bread Crumb stuffed Tomatoes
Summary: A quick side dish that is easy to prepare for a crowd. Sauteed garlic and herbs season the tomatoes while olive oil and breadcrumbs provide a crust
Ingredients
- 6 medium Tomatoes (cored and seeded as described in the recipe above)
- 1 large clove Garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh Thyme minced
- 1 tsp fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley minced
- 1 tsp fresh Tarragon minced
- 2 Tbl Olive Oil plus another 1 Tbl
- 1/4C Fresh Breadcrumbs
- 1/4C grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Core and seed the tomatoes as described above.
- Heat 2 Tbl of olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute or until soft and fragrant – don’t burn it. Add the herbs, give it a stir then remove from the heat and let cool. It should be very fragrant.
- Drizzle the herb,garlic and oil mixture into each tomato.
- Mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and divide between the tomatoes topping each tomato loosely with the mixture.
- Drizzle a little olive oil onto each tomato.
- Prepare a grill or oven and cook as described above.
Recipe: Grilled Tomato Sauce with Herbs and Balsamic Vinegar
Summary: Grilled cherry tomatoes make the base for a quick and easy sauce for fish or meat.
Ingredients
- 1 pt. Cherry Tomatoes or Grap Tomatoes washed
- 2 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tbl Olive Oil
- 1 Tbl chopped fresh Tarragon, Parsley, Thyme or Marjoram
- 1 clove Garlic finely minced
- Salt and Coarsely Ground Pepper
Instructions
- Whisk everything together, except the tomatoes, in a medium sized bowl. Add the tomatoes and toss to coat.
- Let the tomatoes rest for 30 minutes giving a toss every once in a while
- Prepare your grill.
- Toss to coat the tomatoes once more then place them directly on the grate directly above the coals. You can use a grill pan but you want direct on the tomatoes.
- Cover a let the tomatoes roast for 3 minutes. You want the tomatoes to get a bit of char and to melt and turn soft but not so soft you can get them back off the grill. See the photo above.
- Once the tomatoes are done, pull them off the grill and put them back in the bowl with the remaining herb and vinegar mixture. Give the bowl another toss to mix and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Quick Notes
Removing tomatoes from the grill is a bit of a delicate operation. It gets harder as the tomatoes cook down. You can use a pancake turner and fork together to pick them up.
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