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Tomatoes Stuffed with Goat Cheese

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By Anne Willan

Posted December 3rd, 2008

This article is reprinted with permission from The Country Cooking of France, by Anne Willan, (2007, Chronicle Books)

The Country Cooking of France

Servings:	4
Author Notes:	I was given this recipe by a producer of goat cheese, a savvy marketer who hands out recipe leaflets with every cheese he sells. Ironically named Monsieur Cochon (Mr. Pig), he is an idealist, raising his herd of 150 goats with the help of his wife, Veronique, on herbage from his own farm. "We are producers from start to finish, from raising the goats, to making the cheese, to meeting our customers; that's what I enjoy,: says Jean-Marie Cochon. For these stuffed tomatoes, blue cheese or soft cream cheese may be substituted for the goat cheese.
Ingredients:	4 large tomatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds/675 g total salt and pepper 4 slices white bread 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 small goat cheeses (about 8 ounces/225 g total) 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme salad leaves for serving
Instructions:	Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Core the tomatoes, cut shallow lids from the flower (rounded) ends, and discard them. Using a sharp spoon or melon baller, scoop out about half of the seeds from the tomatoes, taking care not poke a hole int he bottom. Sprinkle in insides with salt and pepper. Toast the bread and stamp out the largest possible rounds from the center of each with a 3-inc/7.5 cm cookie cutter. Brush the rounds generously with some of the olive oil and set them in a single layer in a small baking dish. For the filling, crumble the goat cheeses into a bowl, or coarsely crush them with a fork. Mix the garlic, parsley, chives, thyme, pepper, and a little salt in a small bowl, and sprinkle half the mixture in the tomatoes. Fill the tomatoes with the crumbled cheese, mounding it so it is not packed down. Sprinkle withe the remaining garlic mixture and drizzle with the rest the olive oil. Place the tomatoes on the bread croûtes. Bake until the cheese is very hot and the tomato skins start to split, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the tomatoes hot on individual plates, garnished with a few salad leaves if you like.