White Bean & Tofu Stuffed Brown Tomatoes

I bought these gorgeous brown tomatoes because I was feeling adventurous and wanted to try something new. I know that a tomato doesn't sound new but I had never tried one before so I really had no idea what it would taste like or how it would differ from a red or green tomato. 

I also wanted to use the tomato more than just dicing it up and tossing it with tofu or pasta or into a salad. I wanted it to be the star of the dish - so I found this white bean and tofu stuffed tomato recipe and gave it a go.

Ingredients:

• 4 organic brown tomatoes
• 1/2 block extra firm tofu
• 1 can of cannellini beans
• 6-7 stripes of sun dried tomatoes
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 t olive oil
• 1 t dried oregano
• salt and pepper
• pine nuts and breadcrumbs for garnish

1. Cut off the top of the brown tomatoes and scoop out the insides and seeds. Discard (or save for something else, but not this recipe!)

2. In a small blender (my Magic Bullet), food processor, or blender - combine the cannellini beans, tofu (drained and pressed), olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, dried oregano, salt and pepper. 

3. Pulse until desired creaminess. I like mine with a few chunks. This mixture is also great as a dip. I can see myself eating this with baked pita chips or baby carrots.

4. This made about 8 oz of filling. If you double your tomatoes, you can easily fill all eight.

5.  In a baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick, fill the tomatoes with the filling. You can fill well over the tomato as well. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and place pine nuts on top. I like my little star decoration :-)

I also use tin foil to keep the tomatoes upright.

6. Bake in a 375 F oven for 15 minutes or until the filling is warm all the way through and pine nuts are toasted on top. Remove from the baking dish and serve! 

The really liked this recipe. I had never used tofu like this before and it's kind of awesome of versatile tofu can be sometimes. The tofu definitely adds a sponginess to the filling that I weirdly like. The brown tomatoes are really great for this because they are a little more firm than red tomatoes and held their shape throughout the cooking process. I could see this being a great first course at a dinner party.

When experimenting, I like to reference existing recipes, but I also like to make them my own as well. The oil and bread crumbs were my addition and I did not use any basil in the filling either. It allows me to think creatively and figure out new flavor combinations that I think would be tasty. 

Cheers,

Kate