INGREDIENTS:
- 8 large tomatoes, beef steak or heirloom are great 4” diameter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 head garlic, about 8 cloves minced
- 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb pork
- ¼ cup fresh herbs, minced ( parsley, oregano, tarragon, rosemary and/or thyme-any or all are great!)
- 1 TBS fleur de sel salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 3 TBS Capers
- ½ cup Green Olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
- 1 TBS Dijon Mustard
PREPARATION:
- Preheat the oven to 350*.
- In a large pan, saute the onions in olive oil over medium heat until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes more until fragrant. Set aside.
- Slice the top 1” off the tomatoes and reserve. Use a pairing knife to run along the inside edge of the tomato, followed by a spoon to gently scrape out the juicy interior. Use a chef’s knife to chop the large chunks of tomato interior. Add all of the tomato interior to the onion mixture and saute for another 5 minutes or until tomato juice has reduced a bit and is no longer soupy. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, add the ground meat. Use a fork to gently break apart and mix in the fresh herbs, fleur de sel, ground pepper, capers, chopped green olives and dijon.
- Add the onion tomato mixture to the meat mixture. Mix gently.
- Arrange the hulled tomatoes into an oven safe baker brushed with 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil.
- Fill the tomatoes with the meat mixture, about ½ cup meat per tomato or until meat is mounding over the top. Place the top of the tomatoes back on, resting gently on top of the meat. As best you can, try to match the tomato tops and bottoms.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until internal meat temperature reads 160*.
- *If you have left over meat filling, roll meat balls and bake around the tomatoes.
- Serve warm with a side salad and steamed rice.
