Caprino stuffed tomatoes

I am a lover of goat cheese. Before giving up things that bleed, I was of the impression that any meat was vastly improved by the addition of goat cheese. Goat cheese on a hot dog? Yep. Even a hotdog becomes something akin to gourmet with a healthy dollop of goat cheese on top.

I had an assload of baby bella mushrooms in my fridge, from a Costco trip last Saturday that I had forgotten about, and then rediscovered this morning. I decided that maybe making stuffed mushrooms would be a good idea. So whilst browsing the interweb for mushroom recipes, I came across the idea of a stuffed tomato. And stuffed with goat cheese, of all things. I decided to modify it a bit, and add garlic and mushrooms to the mix, even though I had to buy entirely new mushrooms, due to the fact that the ones I had smelled like death.

Here's what you need:

About 1/2 a portobello and 3 cremini mushrooms, finely diced (you could probably use any sort of mushroom, really, but I am a mushroom snob, and therefore went with the portobello)
5 oz of goat cheese (I used 1/2 of an 11 oz log)
Half a roasted bell pepper, diced (these come in jars, if you don't want to roast your own)
4 garlic cloves
4-6 vine ripe tomatoes, medium sized
2 basil leaves
3-4 tablespoons of bread crumbs (one slice in a food processor will pretty much do it)
Black pepper
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
Pandora-Ratatat Radio

After dicing the mushrooms and mincing the garlic, I sauteed them with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. I really have no idea exactly how much i used, because I always just eyeball olive oil, and try to use as little as possible. While that was happening, I cut the tops off of the tomatoes, and then dug out the insides with a small spoon. Be careful not to poke a hole in, or rip the walls of the tomato, or you will be screwed. But dig out as much as you can, and then flip them upside down on a paper towel so they drain a bit more.

I then put the goat cheese log in a mixing bowl, dumped in the sauteed mushrooms and garlic, and the diced roasted red peppers, and stirred and mashed it all together. Then I added a couple tablespoons of bread crumbs, which I thought might help keep it all together once the cheese got hot. Again, I sort of just eyeballed it, but it was about 2-3 tablespoons. Once that was well mixed, I transferred the cheese concoction into the tomatoes, filling them completely. Then, I sprinkled a layer of bread crumbs on top of the tomatoes, and topped it off with little strips of basil. I then drizzled olive oil over the top of the basil, and stuck them in the oven.



I initially had the oven on High broil, but once they were in there, I thought maybe low would be better. So I cooked them on low broil for about 8 minutes, until the crumbs were browned, and I could hear some cheese bubbling.

To say these things were good, would be a gross understatement. I don't know that I've ever cooked something so mind blowingly delicious. I was seriously blown away. It was such a flavorful entree. I thought the caprino cheese would mostly overpower everything, but the mushrooms and red peppers held their own, and lent the whole concoction a subtle flavor that was spectacular.

I ended up eating 3 of them. I think, with other sides added, 2 tomatoes per person would be alright.

I promise you, any moron can make this. Try it. You won't be sorry.