|
August 2008
Tomatoes Stuffed with Goat Cheese
Tomates Farcies au Fromage de Chèvre
photo by France Ruffenach
I was given this recipe by a producer of goat cheese, a savvy
marketeer 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 on herbage from his own
farm, with the help of his wife, Véronique. “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 can be substituted for the goat cheese.
Serves 4
-
4 large tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds/675 grams total)
-
Salt and pepper
-
4 slices white bread
-
2 tablespoons olive oil
-
2 small soft goat cheeses (about 8 ounces/225 grams 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 (optional)
-
3-inch/7.5 centimeter cookie cutter; small baking dish
Heat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C/Gas 6. 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 to poke a hole in the bottom.
Sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper. Toast the bread and
stamp out the largest possible rounds from the center of each with
a cookie cutter. Brush the rounds generously with olive oil and
set them in the 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 in the tomatoes. Add the crumbled cheese,
mounding it so it is not packed down. Sprinkle with the remaining
garlic and herbs and drizzle with the rest of 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
them hot on individual plates, garnished with a few salad leaves
if you like.
Excerpted from THE COUNTRY COOKING OF FRANCE
by Anne Willan, Chronicle Books, 2007.
^ Top
|
