These tomatoes will receive plenty of wonderful reviews from everyone who tries them, even if you leave out the spinach (similar to the cheese-baked peppers) or if you add ground meat. These tomatoes are good served with a grilled steak, pork tenderloin, or lamb chops.
Ingredients:
· 8 medium meaty tomatoes
· 1 cup ricotta cheese
· 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
· ½ cup kashkaval cheese
· 1 cup finely chopped spinach
· 1 egg
· ¼ cup bread crumbs
· 3 T olive oil
· 1 T fresh or dried herbs (popular herbs to use in this dish are oregano, parsley, and marjoram)
· 1 t crushed garlic
· Salt and pepper to taste (be careful adding salt, the cheese is already salted so you may not need to add any more)
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Remove the tops and scoop out the seeds. Place the tomatoes in a well-oiled baking dish.
Set aside half of both the breadcrumbs and olive oil. Mix all of the remaining ingredients together, stirring until the spinach loses some of its volume (this will make the stuffing easier to fit inside the tomatoes). Fill each tomato with the stuffing mixture and arrange them in rows in the baking pan.
Now get the breadcrumbs and olive oil you set aside at the beginning. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top, and drizzle the olive oil on the breadcrumbs.
Bake in a 375°F oven for around 35 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the tomatoes are tender but still maintain their original shape.
Serve warm.
